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THE PROBLEM

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Overview

The City of Sydney has a goal for 2030 to reduce waste going to landfill and make sure all the residents are doing their part in this mission. This project was given to us to understand what is holding people back from doing the right thing.

What is the problem?

The council already has some existing platforms that provide general information about recycling. Still, residents face some issues looking for the correct information as they spread in different channels, and it takes too much effort to look for the right information.

How can we help?

Zero Waste is a one-stop solution where residents can quickly scan a QR Code that leads them to a landing page with a scan recognition to help sort the rubbish. This page also unifies all the main essential features of the existing platforms to make their lives easier and more convenient.

Designing to improve
recycling habits.

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DISCOVER
DEFINE
IDEATE
TEST
DESIGN

Recycling seems logical on the surface but complicated in practice.

We started the research by conducting a user interview with 15 residents, and the objectives were to find out:

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  • Demystify WHY people were holding back not to improve their habits.
     

  • Learn, understand, and measure their knowledge, current habits, and thoughts.
     

  • WHERE they learnt about recycling and HOW they seek information when needed.

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After collecting all the data from our qualitative research, surprisingly:

over 80% of people are confused

about the recycling process.

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People want to recycle, but they are confused about what they can recycle.

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It takes too long to search for the correct information, so people feel unmotivated to do the right thing.

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No guidance or affirmation on their actions, so people feel unconfident and doubtful of the system.

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People don't believe their efforts can make a difference.

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Key insights delivered
from interviews

A day in a life of the resident

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How about the current platforms?

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City of Sydney website

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  • The website has all the essential information for recyclers.
     

  • Powerful tools to help residents with information and accessibility on recycling, booking options, bin day collection, and current news. 
     

  • The design of the interface is clean, and it's easy to find information.

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BUT,

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  • Information about recycling is not clear, and the features are hidden, not making it efficient.

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Garbage Guru (Beta)
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  • Good intentions in helping residents to dispose of rubbish.

 

  • Provide clear answers with options and educates at the same time.

 

  • Quick responses.

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BUT,

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  • To get some response require people interacting by typing a message and the answer comes in different types for identify, but if people are unsure, it will make them more confused.

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Return and Earn website
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  • Good clarification about the program.

 

  • Provide the option to find a point of collection.

 

  • Consistency on content about how it works.

 

  • Easy and intuitive, findable.

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BUT,

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  • People have to transfer across different platforms to access all features .

So, why not make it simple?

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How?

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How did people respond?

Implementing feedback:
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Since Service NSW has implemented a QR Code for people to check in due to covid, it was easy and intuitive for them to use QR codes elsewhere. We started testing based on the homepage sketches to gather the initial feedbacks. 

Initial sketch

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Accordingly, with the feedback, people were confused with the hierarchy of the features and to when scroll down, as they assume there were any other relevant contents.

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After some testings

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As a result, we changed the layout (wireframe fig.) to keep consistent with the exact shape of buttons. During the following tests, people started scrolling and reading all the features.

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  • People enjoyed the fact not have to download an app to use this service.
     

  • Scan image feature made it more convenient to get a quick answer.
     

  • The daily basis features, bin collection day to set in their calendar, and other services linked had positive comments.
     

  • The idea to have the magnetic stick on the fridge or in the bin was a plus because it is a long-lasting material avoiding more waste.

Highlights

Prototype

Scan to see the prototype

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or 

Click to

What is next?

  • Prepare and manage to send the QR Codes for residents to start testing daily routine.

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  • Raise awareness through advertising in train stations, bus stops, corporate buildings and schools.

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  • Workshop and training for building managers to clarify Zero Waste purpose.

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  • Reorganize the City of Sydney website's information architecture to give easier and quick information.

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  • Based on future feedbacks continuing implementing and developing more features.

What I learned

Help people to do what they already want to do

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Change of habits is a slow process, and the core idea behind this process was to provide a platform that could help people take action without making a big effort as it would be unfeasible in the long term and eventually gave up.  

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Learning from people

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In this project, my approach to conducting research was interviewing people to understand their habits, frustrations, and doubts. In a nutshell, my takeaway, particularly this project, is understanding the people before asking them to complete a survey because it allowed me to dig deep into their feelings, struggles and behaviours.

 

Build to break
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Always test in early stages your potential ideas, hypothesis and solutions to the scope and shape something feasible. Specifically in this project, in the beginning, we had great ideas (maybe to use in the future) thinking in gamification as a way to engage people to interact, so we pushed back after found out that all they needed was something simple, quick and convenient without asking them big efforts; as a result, we delivered it in their hands.

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DURATION

2 week design sprint

TEAM

Dora Lin

Juliana Setai

MY ROLE

UX/UI designer involved in all stages of the process with focus in design and interaction.

METHODS

  • Business Analysis

  • Competitive Analysis

  • Comparator Analysis

  • Heuristics Evaluation

  • User Flows

  • Sketching

  • Wireframing

  • Prototyping

  • Usability Testing

TOOLS

  • Pen and Paper

  • Figma

  • Whimsical

  • Airtable

Thank you for your time!

Feel free to leave a comment or feedback.

I would love to hearing back from you!

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