URBIN
UR:BIN Design Challenge 2020
Services:
Market Validation, Brand Design & Building, Communications and Advocacy, Experience Design
How do we design waste management infrastructures that support and encourage proper waste separation among citizens, starting with the humble public bin?
Public waste bins provide an important interface between the general public and the waste management system. However, what exists currently doesn’t support nor encourage waste separation at a citizen level, which places more burden on the system. This creates a ripple of negative effects on our health, on our communities and on the environment as well as other living systems and beings.
In collaboration with the UNDP Accelerator Labs, The Idea set out to learn about what waste collectors, informal and formal, as well as the general public think about the humble public bin. We also invited problem-solvers, designers, manufacturers, engineers, architects, waste management consultants, circular economy experts and accessibility specialists to weigh in and share their insights on what factors make a good waste bin - one that ensures a consistent message across the country.
Through application of design-thinking principles, we arrived at a robust solution that can be further developed to adapt to different local requirements. It was important through the co-creation process to gain as much insight from the users themselves, so we kept our ears and eyes open to our stakeholders through the stages of ideation, and creation to ensure feedback is incorporated and the process remains iterative.
Our process in a nutshell:
1
Develop and host a design challenge for public bins in Cambodia.
2
Perform a needs analysis in conjunction with key stakeholders
3
Facilitated the manufacturing process and test the winning bin
prototypes across public spaces in Cambodia, and iterate
4
Implement bins with identified stakeholders such as provincial governments and administrators of public spaces
5
Tell the creation story from research to ideation through to prototype testing, and gain insights in the process.
We are now working with the UNDP and the Ministry of Environment on implementation and scaling this project. Swing by National University of Management to see the bins in action (when it reopens). And watch this space for updates!
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