The challenge required choosing one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a starting point. I chose Affordable and Clean Energy; recycling has long been a personal concern. Naturvårdsverket, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, has listed increased sorting and treatment of food waste as one of Sweden's milestones.
A literature review indicated that behavioural design methods could influence recycling behaviour. Therefore, I designed a smart waste container that encourages tenants in shared corridors to separate and recycle food waste. The process began with brainwriting sessions, followed by initial sketching and an interview to gather feedback on the proposed design.
The final concept is a steel container with a PAC-MAN™-inspired cover. It includes a drawer for recycling bags, ventilation mesh, a weight sensor, and a display screen. Transparent solar cells integrated into the hexagonal cover power the container.
The screen interface includes accessibility options. It displays statistics to encourage recycling, such as collected waste, generated energy, the distance a bus could drive, or how long a bulb could stay lit. It also uses social norms and competition through a recycling scoreboard and achievements. Municipalities can use it to show customised informational leaflets.
