is a Design of a transparent waste management system that is individually adapted to the consumer. The concept supports the sorting and reflection of consumption and strengthens one's own waste awareness. Interaction Design | Bachelor Thesis | SS 2019
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
– we can read and see this slogan everywhere. People should be more aware of their consumption to save their environment, they say. But how should we do that without the knowledge of our consume? We even do not know how much waste we produce. What is much or less waste? How does waste separation work? In order to find out impressions and real experiences, we had conversations with different stakeholders. Our findings from the interviews:
Findings of
Citizens
- see waste as a burden
- no awareness for waste separation and its impact
- complicated and location based waste separation rules
- cityscape and smell
Waste Management
- wrong separation of waste
- more expense to recycle
- waste pick-up
- mass consumption
How to reach a compromise between consumers and waste management, in which a stronger confrontation with the issue of waste is created?
Keepin is an understandable disposal system which could be implemented in 5-10 years. In this system waste is trade like a raw material which can be kept in the economic cycle. Wrong waste separation will be reduced through a consistent icon system.
Not only the disposal companies will benefit from keepin, but also the citizens. The keepin application enables an improved communication between consumer and waste management and also clarify the own waste behaviour and the costs in a transparent way. People becomes more aware of their waste behaviour and separation and this enables a higher recycling rate, less combustion and also give the possibility to save money.
How does it work?
Waste Id
Everybody have an own fixed waste identity number. System-relevant data is saved to this number. Waste fees are no longer paid annually but monthly. The billing is based on personal consumption and can be actively influenced. The costs are composed of type of waste and weight. Easily recyclable materials are cheaper than other.
District Island
In the city center there is the „District Islands System“. These islands are waste collection points witch are placed in a radius of 350 meter. A District Island contains eight underfloor system container: paper, glass, variable, waste, recycling, biodegradable.
Icon System
All products and district islands have to be signed with an consistent icon system. This consistency
helps the consumer to separate their waste correctly and give a silent information about the process after the disposal. Good separation behavior enables a higher recycling rate and less combustion.
Data Transfer
Through a NFC-Chip or the application the underfloor system will be activated in a specified distance. You automatically log in with your waste ID and can start to dispose. Depending on the container type and weight, the data will be forwarded to your ID.
App for more reflexion
The keepin application enables to integrate waste disposal in daily life. The user can compare and understand his own waste quantities and costs. If the user is confronted with his consumption and especially the costs, he will be more aware of the disposal quantity and will active influence his behavior. This effect is good for our environment, the waste disposal company and the own wallets.
