Recycling and Garbage Organization

Transcription

1 Core Design Recycling and Garbage Organization Research Summary 10/13/2011

2 Contents Introduction... 3 Literature Review... 4 Methodology... 9 Data Gathering Data Analysis Research Summary Bibliography

3 Introduction Through the literature review and discovery of the history and processes of recycling, I realized that recycling is the biggest source of energy saving on Earth ( Recycling through the Ages ). As a communication designer, I feel it is important to make public information more available and easier to understand; people can interact with the environment in more meaningful and helpful ways. The purpose of my project, Recycling and Garbage Organization, is to educate people and provide a better organizational recycling system for apartment residents. The key is to design recycling systems that match smaller space. The objective of this project is to design signage, labels, booklets, or advertisements that will motivate people to recycle. The target audiences for this project will be people of all ages (range from age 12 to 75) who live in apartments or smaller studio spaces. Recycling begins in the home quoted from Reinfeld (93). The more convenient recycling is, the more readily people will accept it. In the home there should be a container or box to hold recyclables, but not something too big which will be in the way (93). However, according to Metro Vancouver s Solid Waste & Recycling site, the current recycling rates for apartments and condos are only 14% compared to (65%) in houses. This statistic shows a waste management plan is definitely needs to be improved. Denison and Ruston point out in Recycling & Incineration that the unfamiliar with recycling often assume that because apartment dwellers have less space than suburbanites (82), they do not have space to recycle. 3

4 Literature Review In modern society, we have become so efficient and diverse that it is cheaper for industrial societies such as the United States to produce materials from scratch rather than rework the scrap (Reinfeld 2). In the current status of recycling, there is so much to be learned with enormous opportunities in the area of recycling states by Reinfeld. Waste management or recycling must be logically planned and structured and operated effectively and efficiently. In Nyles V. Reinfeld s Community Recycling System Design to Management, I found the purpose of my project is to look beyond today and consider not only the problems of recycling and mass waste removal and reuse, but to stress the need for management and professional achievement. As recycling spread in the 1980s, it was not only promoted by different industries, environmentalists, manufacturers, but also the package industry itself created recycling symbols for many usages. Yet, re-using recyclate is usually more economical in financial terms, and definitely better in sustainability terms, than sourcing the raw materials to make these products from scratch (Smith 21).This symbol is made of the three chasing arrows in a triangle which indicates recycle, which means that a particular item has been made using recycled materials and/or that it is suitable for recycling (21). The recycling symbol was designed by the Container Corporation of America a few months after the first Earth Day to advertise its reprocessed products and it left the logo in the public domain for others to adopt (Rogers 171). However, by the end of the 1980s that remanufacturing procedures could be inefficient, polluting and expensive and also, recycling did not minimize the creation of discards (Rogers 176). The results started to make consumers wonder where does recycling go and what are the processes at the transfer station and after? 4

5 After recycling items are collected directly from homes, apartments, and businesses, they are delivered to a sorting station. Then, we are dealing with a major portion of the landfill problem (Reinfeld 11) because the station requires larger storage areas to separate and clean materials (28). According to Metro Vancouver network s graph (Figure 1) of Household Waste Composition, we can see the community waste collection by weight. The most common recycled items are food, paper, plastic, pet waste, diapers, aluminum, tins, glass, and garden waste. Also, Tracey Smith summarizes more obscure items include books, batteries, oils (cooking and car), textiles, paints, and even electrical appliances and mobile phones (Smith 22). In Smith s chart of How long does your rubbish take to break down? (Figure 2), we can see that many items on the list are not biodegradable. They will only fragment into smaller and smaller pieces over time says Smith (22). Figure 1. Household Waste Composition Integrated Solid Waste and Resource Management Plan. Metro Vancouver. Web. 10 Oct < 5

6 Figure 2. How long does your rubbish take to break down? by Smith, Tracey. The Book of Rubbish Ideas: an Interactive and Innovative Guide to Recycling Your Household Waste. Bristol: Alastair Sawday, Print. At the transfer station, all kinds of recycling need to be separated into each category because each material has its own way to be converted. As we can see in the diagram (Figure 3), some products can be shred, disassemble into components, or be reused components. Then from there, only some parts of the materials will be defined Figure 3. White, Philip, Pierre Louise. St, and Steve Belletire. Okala: Learning Ecological Design. Phoenix, Ariz.: IDSA, Print. 6

7 as recyclable materials and others will be burn or buried into landfill. In Tracey Smith s The book of Rubbish Ideas, she summarizes the processes of each recyclable product in sorting centre: Glass is one of the most versatile recycled products. It can be crushed to make a substance called cullet (Smith 23). Food disposal at source could be greatly improved [ ] A mix of food, kitchen and organic garden waste is put into huge anaerobic digesters where bacteria and microbes that thrive in such conditions breakdown the waste (24). Electrical appliances come in all shapes and sizes and are treated in various ways. Fridges, freezers and air-conditioning units have their cooling gases and insulation foam removed for treatment before the units themselves can be recycled (25). Aluminum beverage cans are shredded, melted down and the molten aluminum is poured into giant ingot moulds. The ingots are sold to make new products such as car and aeroplane parts and new cans for the food and drink industry (23). According to Encorp Pacific (Canada) s data, more than 80% of the cans sold in BC are returned for recycling ( Beverage Container Recycling ). From the statistic, I noticed that consumers are more willing to recycle aluminum cans because of they are the most commonly used individual serving container. It could be the first step of improving system in a way that has the potential for changing people s behaviour. Paper is pulped, cleaned and then screened. The ink on printed paper from newspapers and magazines is removed with soap and bubbles of air. The pulp is then turned back into paper via a huge mechanised 7

8 system [ ] then made into enormous reels or sheets (23). In the Blue Box Program, papers and newspaper are separated into yellow bag/paper products and blue bag/newsprint cart. Due to the quality of the paper (its type) and the amount of dirt and reside in the material (Reinfeld 34), cleaner paper has higher value. From my research, that is the most common question that people are wondered why it is important to recycle newspaper into different box. Plastic bottles are sorted mechanically. A machine sieves out any small particles [ ] which uses infrared technology to sort the mixed bottles into their separate types, e.g. high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyethylene terephthalate (PEZT), and also into their component colours (26). I found that most of the consumers have the problem with recycling plastic products. The problem is that each plastic product is made with different chemicals and physical properties; therefore, there are around fifty different types of plastics and they have literally hundreds of end uses (Smith 27). As the consumers get confused with these plastics, it will discourage them to recycle all kinds of plastics. This could be another challenge for me to design a series of labels that can help consumers to identify each plastic in a simpler way. 8

9 Methodology For the recycling effort to be successful, both profit and nonprofits operations can take advantage of incentives to create the excitement needed to collect large volumes of materials (Reinfeld 91). In the Lower Mainland, since 1990 the Blue Box Program enables residents of single-family, duplex and some smaller multi-family dwellings to recycle materials ( Basics of Blue Box Recycling Program ). Each resident is supplied with a blue box (for metal, glass and plastic containers), a reusable yellow bag for (mixed paper products) and a reusable blue bag for (newsprint, paper) ( Basics of Blue Box Recycling Program ). There is also a specific program, which has been operating since 1999 enables residents in apartments, condominiums, co-ops, townhouses and other multi-family buildings ( Basics of Apartment Recycling Program ). The difference between houses and apartments is that apartments are using blue carts for each material and the carts are usually located at the basement to share with other residents. By discovering the Blue Box carts that are located in the apartment (shown in Figure 4), Figure 4. Blue Box Carts in Davie Street apartment. Photograph by Helen Lu. October

10 I found the labels on each individual cart are not clear enough. I want to improve the recycling organization by designing an instruction for residents as well. Moreover, I have also carefully observed the recycling and garbage-sorting systems in current use and how they are perceived and used by the public. I found that the Recycling Council of British Columbia (since 1974) is a non-profit, membership driven organization that promotes the principles of zero waste through information services, the exchanges of ideas and research ( Welcome to the Recycling Council of British Columbia ). The RCBC has a well-organized recycling and garbage system in the City of Vancouver. I found the recycling organization placed at the food court of the Vancouver City Centre, as Figure 5. I also discovered that they have designed the garbage bin into three categories: recyclables, organics, and non recyclables. There is also a video plays above the system to show the processes for sorting and separating garbage. I like the designing of the limitation of each product s size, so the consumers will not be confused with each category, (Figure 6). The garbage organization at Tim Horton s is another example of the similar design, (Figure 7). Figure 6. Recyclables Bin (Top Image) Figure 7. Tim Horton s Recycling Bins Figure 5.Zero Waste Recycling Organization Figure 5, 6, 7, all photograph and document by Helen Lu. October

11 Data Gathering Data collection is most vital in any quality improvement program because the quality of the inferences, estimates, decisions, and actions are no better than the quality of the data on which they are based (Reinfeld 203). At the research stage of the project, I created a nine question survey published online. The survey was open to the public for people of all ages and most of the questions were designed to find out everyone s knowledge of recycling system. 55 people completed the survey of Recycling and Garbage Organization The data from the survey means as a stated earlier to discover, define, and resolve problems, clarify situation, and defuse conflict (203). 11

12 Data Analysis According to my Recycling and Garbage Organization 2011 survey (shown in Figure 8) 98% of people do recycling at home nowadays. The majority (85.2% of them) use the Blue Boxes to recycle at home. Besides using the Blue Boxes, 59.3% recyclers set up their own recycling and garbage bins at home/apartment. However, only 60.4% of people know how to do recycling correctly. 77.8% of people do not know that they have to separate newspaper and paper into different recycling bins. 68.5% of people do not know how and where to recycle plastic bags. At the end of the survey, there were 90.6% of people who wished to have a clear instruction and labels on recycling bins. Some people also wished to learn more about recycling and garbage organization, for example, How to recycle batteries and plastic bags? and How the garbage organizations recycle our stuff? and Does this action really help us to have a better environment? etc. 12

13 Figure 8. Recycling and Garbage Organization 2011 Survey, graph by Helen Lu. October

14 Research Summary In general, I want to provide and design in-home strategies for recycling includes strategies for efficient waste management. Simply separating garbage and recyclable items into different categories could also help to reduce the chances of staff cutting themselves on broken glass buried in plastic bags when handling the regular trash (Denison and Ruston 82). The final product, such as: printed labels, brochures, and posters will be mailed to apartments and posted at billboards as promotion. Also, the advertising video will be promoted through websites. The instruction design will be educational and informational. It will help users gain knowledge and understanding of the correct recycling process. The label/icon design for home recycling and garbage strategy will help users easily and consistently identify specific bins and recyclable material types. The project will also include a short video to promote home recycling and a simple garbage-sorting strategy to encourage more people to set up home recycling in smaller places. The challenge of this project is not only to design an easier way for people living small spaces to recycle, but also to consider how the system would work in everyday life and in everyday apartments, to develop a system that works, using user feedback in considering and evaluating proposed designs 14

15 Bibliography "Blue Box Recycling Program." York Region. Web. 10 Oct < ogram.htm>. Denison, Richard A., and John Ruston. Recycling and Incineration: Evaluating the Choices. Washington, D.C.: Island, Print. "Encorp Pacific (Canada) - Beverage Products." Encorp Pacific (Canada) - Beverage Container, Milk Container and Electronics Recycling. Web. 10 Oct < "Integrated Solid Waste and Resource Management Plan." Metro Vancouver. Web. 10 Oct < spx>. Nijkerk, Alfred Arnold. Recycling through the Ages. Brussels: BIR, Print. Reinfeld, Nyles V. Community Recycling: System Design to Management. Ed. Carl M. Layman. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Print. Rogers, Heather. Gone Tomorrow: the Hidden Life of Garbage. New York: New, Print. Smith, Tracey. The Book of Rubbish Ideas: an Interactive and Innovative Guide to Recycling Your Household Waste. Bristol: Alastair Sawday, Print. "SurveyMonkey." SurveyMonkey: Free Online Survey Software & Questionnaire Tool. Web. 10 Oct < 2aMAtmJRirpEdqo1sp2 DgRnbXXjet3qdKA=>. White, Philip, Pierre Louise. St, and Steve Belletire. Okala: Learning Ecological Design. Phoenix, Ariz.: IDSA, Print. 15