There are 5 of us working on this project. Ron, Lea, Julia, Vickie, and myself. Originally, we decided to create a project around increasing recycling in Seattle. The project has been named "Second Nature". Through three different IDEO methods: surveys, card sorting, and extreme interviews, we reduced scope. The new scope of the project is how to increasing recycling in the workplace.
Through the interviews, we have learned that most people think they are pretty good at recycling. However, the card sorting activities have shown that people aren't as good as recycling as they think they are. Additionally when we take photos of recycle bins throughout the day at the office, we also see that people are not as good at recycling as they say they are.
For example, some of the things people thought are recyclable but are not include: prescription bottles, broken glass, and foil. Even among our group some of us thought broken glass was recyclable and some not. We figured that glass gets dropped into the sanitation trucks and broken anyways. The main reason is to protect the sanitation workers. In curbside collection, not all service is automated. Additionally, recyclables occasionally fall out of the bin. If broken glass is placed directly in the bin, the worker can be injured. The second reason is that some broken household glass isn't container glass, and there is a difference between household glass and food container glass. The centers only want food container glass.
In one office where we took photos for the behavioral archaeology method, there is a green compost bin on the left and a blue recycle bin on the right. However, items such as napkins, tissues and the occasional banana peel made it into the recycle bin.
Today we completed P2 of our project and submitted it. Additionally, we are to submit designs that can potentially end up being prototypes in the future.
