The Brief
EcoAI is focused on using technological solutions and artificial intelligence to help people sort their waste more accurately, and reduce their garbage footprint. This is achieved by facilitating the decision-making process for people at the time of waste disposal, as well as making a cultural shift by educating people on recycling.
Business Goals
Increase the recycling diversion rate to 90 percent on UBC campus.
User Goals
To receive assistance at the time of waste disposal in a fun and convenient way.
Project Goals
Design a fun and interactive app to facilitate the decision-making process for people on waste sorting at the time of disposal.
Pain Point
We discovered that our users are interested in recycling, but they are often unsure of how to recycle correctly.
These results suggest that there is a disconnect between the users intention to recycle and executing the action.
Research & Discover
The Challenge
The brief of the project was to create an app to facilitate recycling decision making at the time of disposal, keeping in mind the following:
-
The app must reduce the confusion of waste sorting
-
The interface needs to be fun and interactive
-
Utilize artificial intelligence with a camera feature
-
Create incentive to use the app
-
Educate users on recycling
-
“Futuristic” branding (e.g., minimalist)
-
Target population: Vancouver residents
Research Methods
User Research, Comparative/Competitive Analysis, Domain Research, Contextual Inquiry, Affinity Diagram, User Personas, Storyboards, User Journey Map, User Flows, Site Mapping, Content Audit, Prototyping, Usability Testing
"[When I am] in a rush, I will just put it in the closest bin I see, like if I see a garbage can nearby I'll just chuck it in."
User interview quote | Vancouver, BC
Design Solutions
We took a fun and interactive twist to reducing the users carbon footprint.
​
-
We designed an app that allows the user to visually capture a disposable with a click of a button and the app will automatically generate results to inform the user how the item should be disposed (e.g., garbage, paper recycling, etc.). These results also include unique fun facts about how the user can make a positive impact on their environment.
-
A pain point identified during the research phase was that users are not motivated to recycle because it is boring. Let’s get real, a recycling app is not the most exciting download available on the app store. To make our design a more delightful, we incorporated humour to keep the user engaged.
-
The EcoAI app requests access to the users geolocation to auto-populate the users EcoAI calendar with garbage and recycling pick-up dates.
​
Summary
In summary, we achieved our goals by creating the user flow, functionality and aesthetics of the app. The user flow and the user-centred solutions to make the app convenient and efficient will increase the recycling diversion rate.
Now, target users are able to conveniently access the app and clearly identify where to dispose of waste and/or recyclable items.
​
Overall, the EcoAI project was a success! The team worked well and hard to create a simple, functional and minimalistic app to improve the experience of our users at the time of recycling.
The final product exceeded the business goals, user goals and project goals.