Sort N' Loop: Consumer Recycling Solutions
Explored solutions to enhancing consumer recycling in Aotearoa/New Zealand as an innovation assignment at the University of Canterbury utilising design-based thinking to explore wicked problems.
Our group chose to focus on consumer recycling after discussing the complexities of consumer recycling and the problems associated with consumer awareness on correct recycling of packaging/product materials with uptown 30% of consumer recycling being sent to landfill due to incorrect disposal and contamination.
After exploring and analysing the problem using a wide range of consumer and expert interviews, our group developed four potential solutions including:
- Mandatory Product/Packaging Disposal Labels
- Reuse and Recycle Fridge Magnets
- Home Recycling Stations
- Sort N' Loop App
After extensive prototyping and user testing our group focused on mandatory product/packaging disposal labels as the solution we felt would best enhance consumer recycling in Aotearoa.
Our group won the supreme prize of Best Presentation/Poster for our work in developing innovate solutions to this issue.
Developed alongside James Malone and Sarah Anderson for Inov200: Opportunities are Everywhere paper.
“This is an excellent proposal, and the prototypes have real applicability for the NZ fast moving consumer goods industry. I would love to discuss how we could develop the prototypes to fit with the labelling system (ARL) which our industry is adopting.”
- Lyn Mayes, The NZ Packaging Forum
