Diego 6.1040 Portfolio

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Project 1: Impact Case ​

Final Revised Impact Case ​

The problem of waste reduction is important because unsustainable waste management practices have proven toxic to those tasked with handling waste (which are often the inhabitants of poor nations), to our atmosphere (as 20% of human-driven methane emissions come from waste landfills alone), and to wildlife (as microplastics have been found in a scary percentage of turtles, whales, and seabirds). One of the biggest ways that this can be fought on an individual level is through recycling, but a lack of education in that area has drastically reduced its effectiveness. Only 9% of plastic waste is actually recycled successfully, and many people (our interviewees included) have expressed that poor labeling and mixed signaling has contributed to incorrect recycling practices.

Our solution to address this problem is an application designed to help people quickly distinguish between recyclable, compostable, and non-recyclable items and find convenient places to dispose of them sustainably. The goal is to mitigate the issue of people throwing everything into the nearest trash can or recycling incorrectly.

We believe our proposed solution will be effective because, as mentioned by both Lucy and Melissa, who have served as waste watchers and have engaged with MIT’s waste management system, education works. Most people truly do not know how to recycle or compost correctly, and often stick to whatever guidelines they learned first. Events and proper signage have resulted in noticeable improvement, and an application that further propagates that awareness is also likely to succeed. Further, knowing what you can and cannot recycle makes you more conscious of what items you consume in the first place—contributing to a reduction of waste across the board.

In areas where our solution is being implemented, we could measure the volume of solid waste and the contamination percentage of recycled and organic waste to prove that our proposed solution is effective at reducing waste – something that Mark and Suzy already do to assess the campus-wide waste situation. As discovered in our interview and research processes, these values are regularly measured by waste management businesses and charity organizations.

Team Contract ​

As a team, we’ve agreed upon the following statements:

  • In terms of expected level of achievement and effort, we agree to do what is necessary and reasonable to earn an “A” grade. This may mean working up to 18 hours a week—but no more than that.
  • We’ve outlined the following personal goals for ourselves:
    • We’d like to make something that people would use—even if it’s just one feature.
    • We want more experience building a polished and working system end-to-end.
    • We want practice implementing a responsive and accessible user interface.
    • Overall, we’d like to continue improving upon our design and web development skills.
  • We’ve agreed to communicate at the following times each week:
    • Each Tuesday from 4-5pm on Stata’s 5th floor. The first half hour will be with our TAs, the second hour will be with just the four of us.
    • Each Sunday from 7:30-8:30pm on Zoom.
    • There will be an asynchronous discussion on Wednesdays to assign tasks when assignments are released.
    • An asynchronous update on progress & blockers will be expected prior to Sunday meetings.
  • In order to maintain a high quality of work, we’ll have at least one other person on the team (who didn’t work on said portion of the assignment) review the designs or code in question.
  • As mentioned above, there will be an asynchronous discussion on Wednesdays to divide up tasks once assignments are released. While we will try not to miss deadlines, we’ll let the group chat know as soon as possible if something cannot be completed so that someone else can pick it up.
  • If there are any serious disagreements, we’ll attempt to compromise or reach a middle ground. If that cannot happen, we agree to proceed in favor of the majority.

Initial Problem Statement & Solution ​

Problem Statement ​

On both a systemic and individual level, tons of food, clothing, water, materials, and technology go to waste. People are often complacent about the significant amount of resources that they leave unused and/or dispose of on a day-to-day basis. In a world where the challenges surrounding climate change and poverty are escalating, it’s important that steps are taken to minimize the environmental footprint of individuals and to foster a culture of waste reduction and responsible consumption. Particular problems within this domain might include: how to track and measure individual waste; how to effectively recycle and repurpose items; how to dispose of waste responsibly and with environmental sensitivity; how to quickly share items so that they don’t go to waste; and how to eco-consciously acquire items in the first place.

Tentative Solution ​

As our tentative solution to this problem, we propose an application that would facilitate the giving away of items that would otherwise go to waste. Users would be able to post items that they’re giving away (whether it be food or swipes or clothing) along with the datetime by when they’d need to give said item away by. Other users on the platform would then be able to claim those items and arrange an exchange.

Draft Impact Case ​

The problem of excess waste is important because it means that resources with the potential to provide a higher (or sometimes bare minimum) quality of life are not reaching people who might need them, which is especially relevant because we live in a world with limited resources.

Our solution to address this problem is to develop an application that would facilitate the giving away of items that would otherwise go to waste. Users would be able to post items that they’re giving away (whether it be food or swipes or clothing) along with the datetime by when they’d need to give said item away by. Other users on the platform would then be able to claim those items and arrange an exchange.

We believe such a tool is a good solution because it will allow us to make the most of important resources so as many people as possible can benefit from them, creating a more efficient society.

We could measure the change in amount of waste produced and amount of waste reused to prove that our tool is a good solution to the issue of excess waste.

Interview Plan ​

Interviewees ​

  • Melissa (Stakeholder/Student Expert) - Melissa offers the perspective of both a stakeholder and a student expert in waste. She grew up eco-conscious and remains heavily involved in sustainability, waste management, and waste reduction in her personal life and on MIT campus. She has been involved with numerous initiatives with Waste Watchers, UA Sustain, and the Office of Sustainability for the past 3 years.
  • Lucy (Stakeholder/Student Expert) - Lucy offers the perspective of a stakeholder in our app. She is a student here at MIT and has engaged with MIT’s waste management system as both a Waste Watcher and as McCormick’s Sustainability Chair.
  • Mark Hayes (Expert) - Director of Campus Dining since January 2018. Liaison between dining vendors including residential and retail operators, food trucks, and outside caterers. Worked at several other universities as part of their dining leadership teams. Part of the Food Security Action Team.
  • Susy Jones (Expert) - Senior Sustainability Project Manager in the Office of Sustainability since 2013. Chair in City of Cambridge’s Recycling Advisory Committee as MIT rep. Part of the Food Security Action Team.

Interview Questions ​

We drafted a couple of questions to ask our stakeholders and experts:

Experts

  • What experience do you have working with waste management and reduction?
    • In general, the goal here is to get a feel for what they do to reduce waste in their roles.
    • Do you think this area of waste is a bigger problem than other areas of waste at MIT or in general? Why did you decide to focus on this area?
  • What policies have you seen work well?
    • Do you use any technologies to aid in reducing waste?
    • Is there anything you feel is missing? What might you be overlooking?
    • Why do you think these have worked?
    • Do you have a quantifiable measurement of how much these policies have helped? (leads into next question about metrics)
  • How do you measure waste management reduction? (Any specific metrics? How does the school quantify these things?)
    • Ask about what their goals are with regards to these metrics. (Long & short term)
  • What are the challenges/pain points you encounter when dealing with waste management?
    • Are there any regulatory or compliance factors that affect your waste management processes?
  • If you had a magic wand that could help you achieve your goals most effectively or change the situation most dramatically, what would it be?

Stakeholders

  • What are some things that you have that you don’t use?
    • What do you do with them? Is there anything that you want to do with them?
  • What are some things in your day-to-day life that go to waste?
    • How does that make you feel?
    • Have you tried to do anything with them? How has that worked?
  • In general, what do you think you throw away the most often? What do you end up throwing away the most at the end of the semester or school year?
  • Ask about whether or not they actively donate or recycle or reuse. How has that process been?
  • In general get a sense of if reducing waste is something they care to do something about.
  • Do you reuse items from other people?
  • What are some waste reduction strategies you’ve tried?
    • Have you ever done a senior sale or bought from a senior sale?
    • Do you use thrifthouse?
    • Do you use the dining meal plan swipe share program?
    • What’s worked?
    • What’s been frustrating about them?
  • If you had a magic wand that could help you achieve your goals most effectively or change the situation most dramatically, what would it be?

Research Findings ​

Excess Waste (Problem)

  • 2.12 billion tons of waste dumped every year. Most of this waste comes from consumers trashing most of what they buy within six months of purchase.
  • Electronic waste (e-waste) is increasing. 50 millions tons produced per year. This waste is toxic and handled by people in poor countries with little protection.
  • A lot of waste is plastic, which is not good. “Global plastic waste generation more than doubled from 2000 to 2019 to 353 million tonnes. Nearly two-thirds of plastic waste comes from plastics with lifetimes of under five years, with 40% coming from packaging, 12% from consumer goods and 11% from clothing and textiles.” (OECD) Only 9% of annual plastic waste is successfully recycled.
  • Unsustainable waste has negative impacts on climate change, wildlife, and our own health. “20% of the total human-driven methane emissions have been produced from waste landfills…”. “Researchers have found microplastics in 100% of turtles, 59% of whales, 36% in seals, and even 90% in seabirds they examined.”

Sources:

Mismanagement of Waste & Recycling (Sub-Problem of Excess Waste)

  • People often place objects in the wrong bins, which results in more work, cost, and inconveniences for places that process waste. For example, many think used pizza boxes can be recycled when they often cannot. Since plastic bags are plastic, people think they should be recycled but in reality, they should often be disposed of in the trash due to causing entanglements in waste processing machinery.
  • Which objects can be recycled and which cannot is something that changes overtime and can vary between different locations. For example, “a greasy pizza box can now be recycled and put in your curbside bin” according to Boston 25 news, but other sources say the boxes still have to go in the trash. People usually stick to the first rules they learned about recycling and are not aware of such changes.
  • Many products are made of multiple materials or contain parts made of different materials, making it harder for consumers to separate into the right trash bins.
  • Different places have different numbers of categories for consumers to separate waste into. E.g., trash and recyclables, or trash, food waste, paper, and plastic. In some places, items like batteries must be disposed of in certain locations.
  • From my own experience and also from interviews, not having enough bins or placing bins in cluttered places causes long lines and lowers incentive for students to dispose of food and trash into their corresponding bins. Insufficient labeling is also a barrier to correct waste separation.
  • People who donate their little-used clothes to get new ones may do so to feel guiltless about contributing to textile waste. However, the goal is to have less clothes in circulation.
    • Interesting idea: Perhaps our app can have an option to trade clothes with someone, would need to flesh out more details.

Sources:

Existing & Proposed Solutions for Waste Management

  • There are websites, such as this one, that a person can visit and search an item. The website can then suggest how to dispose of the item correctly.
    • Gap: Not sure if this website is specific to one location’s recycling rules
  • There exist online sites such as Ebay and Craigslist where users can post items that they wish to sell. These items can then be shipped to buyers, whether they are local or abroad. Amazon also often sells used versions of certain products such as books and video games.
    • Gap: Ebay deliveries still involve packaging, which is a large source of waste
  • Thrift stores and charities are good places to donate used clothes and other items, although there are limitations; for example, only 50% of clothes donated to Goodwill are deemed to be in good enough condition for retail. Of the remaining, most are sent to outlet stores, where the clothes are sold at a much cheaper price, and the items in truly poor condition can only be incinerated or sometimes used as cleaning rags. Not everything sent to stores sells, however, and the remaining items are sold to salvage businesses or send abroad, which can have varying levels of effectiveness. In some countries, donated clothes might mess with local merchant businesses, and there is not much transparency in terms of what salvage businesses do with bought clothes.
    • Gap: Important to note is that thrift stores have become more popular as a way for people who like to stay up to date with fashion to get clothes at a cheap price while feeling good about themselves for choosing a sustainable option. Because of this, prices at thrift shops can rise and become less affordable for those who rely on them for clothing as a basic necessity.
    • Gap: Since most clothes is made for smaller sizes, most of the clothes that ends up in thrift stores is also small in size, which does not allow everyone to participate in this sustainable way of obtaining clothes
  • Recycling apps
    • IRecycle - helps users find where and how they can recycle a variety of materials. Provides useful information via articles, podcasts, and guides.
      • Gap: Does not show locations of each individual bins found in an area, only shows locations of centers/buildings where waste can be disposed
    • Recycle Coach - works with local governments to provide recycling information and bin collection schedules to users based on their location. Provides a guide and information on events to tackle confusion when recycling items made of mixed materials, or to know which items can be recycled in which areas.
      • Gap: The app needs a certain number of users in an area to unlock additional recycling resources and information for those users, making its effectiveness dependent on the number of users. This would be especially bad for communities with low population density.
    • Gimme 5 - tackles the lack of options for recycling #5 plastics by showing the user locations where they can dispose of their #5 plastic and earn points. They can share recycling actions via social media and compare recycling activity to others
      • Gap: Limited in terms of the materials it helps users recycle—it only handles #5 plastics.
  • It is worth noting that our current national infrastructure for recycling is also an existing solution for waste management, but it does have some flaws. Most notably, in the past, recyclable waste was shipped out to other countries such as China to handle. However, shipping to other countries is not a sustainable solution because they might refuse to continue accepting waste (as China and multiple other countries have). They might also have too much waste to manage. To begin with, other countries have not done a great job of handling recyclables either, often resulting in ocean pollution or landfills. Furthermore, this has left the U.S. infrastructure for handling recyclable waste rather weak.

Sources:

What People Look for & Need

Those in Need

  • Some of the most useful items for homeless people are blankets, food, clean water, tents, and clothing.
  • People in poverty also often lack health care, education, and transportation

In General

  • The most popular second hand products bought and sold online in the US in 2021 are clothing, books, electronics, furniture, jewelry, sporting goods, watches, tools and home care items, exercise equipment, bikes, musical instruments, and cars (from this link)
  • From what I have seen and as suggested here, video games, collectibles, pet supplies, baby items, home goods, and glassware are also pretty popular second hand items sold online.

Sources:

VSD Analysis ​

  • Non-targeted Use: Any application that encourages in-person interactions with strangers introduces a safety risk. Bad actors could use this application to harm other users during exchanges or to disperse unsafe or illicit items. Solutions in this regard involve: moderation, reporting, public ratings/reviews, a community/groups feature (where some authentication of sorts is required to post in certain spaces), and encouraging no-contact drop-offs (having items left somewhere to be picked up).
  • Privacy: Not all users may feel comfortable providing contact or other identifying information to the platform or other users on the site. Having this as a central part of our application’s current design opens our direct stakeholders up to privacy risks. One solution to this is to have an in-app messaging feature so that contact information never has to be exchanged.
  • Adaptation: The goal of this application is to encourage people to give away items that they don’t want or use so that they don’t go to waste. Since our application takes the form of item listings, users might adapt that feature into a sort of “marketplace”, where items are given away with the goal of receiving money or items in return. While this isn’t inherently the worst thing, it subverts the solution’s efficacy.
  • Diverse Geographies: Our solution relies on the existence of significant number users in close proximity. This works just fine in areas with high population density, but is pretty much ineffective in rural areas.
  • Widespread Use: Should this application become the primary platform for giving items away, traffic would be diverted away from donation organizations (e.g. food banks, clothing drives, etc.). This would divert resources away from those who arguably have more need for them. One solution would be to give these donation organizations a presence on the application. Whenever a user posts an item, they could be first prompted to donate to relevant organizations. Further, users looking to claim items could also be prompted to take those items to donation drop off locations.
  • Hoarding: Our solution runs the risk of unintentionally causing a hoarding problem, where users may claim a bunch of items they think they need and those items end up going to waste anyway--subverting the goal of waste reduction. An idea to address this is by placing a limit on the amount of items that people can claim in a given period of time.

Interview Summary ​

The key issues with the current waste management system at MIT can be summarized as

  1. Lack of education in the community (figuring out what items can be recycled/composted/reused and where to do these),
  2. Lack of easily available sustainability alternatives (“Most people won’t carry a banana peel until they find a compost bin” -Melissa; all residential dining halls have their own waste disposal system, which makes it confusing for students, and not all of them have compost bins)
  3. lack of motivation to be sustainable when there are many other goals that need to be balanced such as time and costs (difficult to move away from single-use items to reusable items because of inconvenience and lack of incentive).

Issues 1 and 2 have led to a lot of contamination across bins that force the entire bin to be thrown out rather than recycled or composted. Issue 3 poses the challenge of how to encourage people to be sustainable when being sustainable may mean some workers will work longer hours or small businesses might need to pay for reusable containers upfront when they can’t afford that upfront business cost. Issue 3 is also a large issue in the student population; because college students essentially “wrap up [their] whole life every 6 months” at the end of the semester, it is very easy to “just throw things in the trash” instead of putting in effort to recycle or donate everything they cannot pack up.

There are plenty of solutions that have successfully tackled different parts of waste. Get Rid of it Right by the City of Cambridge and Recylcopedia help people figure out what to do with different types of waste. Too Good to Go allows food retailers to sell leftover foods at discounted prices at the end of the day. SwipeShare allows students to donate up to 6 dining hall swipes a semester. Trash2Treasure, Choose2Reuse, Rheaply, UA thrift store popups, and dormspam have all been very effective in helping create a circular economy on campus for clothing and other physical items. Consistent signage near bins with information on commonly thrown out items and education events have also been effective in changing behavior.

However, there is currently no centralized infrastructure for waste reduction and management. Melissa wishes there was a “really accessible usable education method that people would want to learn from” or a “database of stuff easier than going through dorm spam,” since many people have also complained about not wanting to see sales in dorm spam in the past. Lucy wishes there was a way to have a centralized app where they can filter by item type and receive notifications on specific items they may be looking for. Suzy wishes the campus would be designed with reuse in mind. All of these wishes can be summarized as having a central app that is the go-to solution when people don’t want something and don’t know what to do with it whether that something is trash like styrofoam or greasy plastic, recyclable like paper or clean plastic takeout containers, reusable like extra eggs or extra clothes, or compostable like food scraps and banana peels.

Appendix ​

ChatGPT Usage ​

ChatGPT was used in this project to help with brainstorming interview questions and potential gaps in our solution.