For my project, I am continuing to focus on the dorm waste system at the New School. The wicked problem is that one of the agents (students) is not cooperating with the dorm waste system. After speaking to students living in the dorms, there is a general consensus that the system needs to be updated. There is not enough information given to the students in terms of how items are sorted. As well, the bins in the dorm suites are too small, and there aren’t enough to correspond with sections in the waste rooms on each floor. “The average college student produces 640 pounds of solid waste each year.” That means within one suite of four people, 2560 pounds of solid waste would be sorted incorrectly in only one year. The students in New School dorms will be impacted by this project because it will be much faster and easier for them to sort their waste with these new containers. The containers will be clearly marked with a title, photos of common items to be sorted there and a list at the bottom of more confusing items. These new containers will also be bigger so you won’t have to empty them as often. The wicked problem will not be completely solved by this project however, it will be much easier to sort and thus the wicked problem should be mitigated. The new containers will be sustainable as they will be made of recycled metal and the lids will be made of recycled plastic to seal the smells inside. There will be sturdy locking wheels so the containers stay in place in the suites. These new containers will activate a change in the system because they will be much clearer and easier for the agent (students) to use. The desired effect of this project is that the students living in the dorms not only sort correctly within the dorms but gain an understanding of how to sort in their everyday lives. I think this would take a few months to produce but if started early enough, they could switch the containers in the summer when there are no students in the dorms. One challenge could be the cost of producing these new containers for every dorm. The school could do a test using one dormitory and see how well the students respond to them before making such a large investment.
Since the summer of 2017, the small community of apartment buildings called Valla Torg in Stockholm, Sweden has been using a stationary pneumatic waste collection system. This system was designed by a company called Envac and uses underground pipes, pressurized air and advanced technology to efficiently transport waste to waste facilities. This method is much cleaner, easier and more efficient. I wanted to incorporate those three aspects into my design because I found this system very innovative and inspiring. Busch Systems designs and produces many different recycling and waste containers. I have seen many of their different designs in person, especially their Boka series of containers. The bases of the Busch Systems containers are very strong as they are made from stainless steel. I chose the same material for my container design as strength is very important. However, their containers have very little signage and information which I have found is vital to the students. The most information I found was on their Waste Watcher series. However, these bins only have the name of the category and one photo for reference. Through interviewing students, I found that everyone would benefit from more information being provided. My third reference is the Waste Management website which has lists of how items should be sorted. Based in the United States, Waste Management is a comprehensive waste management company and the leading provider of that service in North America. They have a lot of information on their website about incorrect sorting and state that 25% of the items in recycling bins are actually trash. I used this reference to inform the items I wanted to include in my design. The information on the Waste Management website emphasizes the need for more information on the waste containers. College students aren’t the only ones with this problem but as a very sustainably focused school we should be doing better than we are.
