IUPUI Recycling Project
Re-framing the recycling experience to improve the culture
of sustainability on campus and beyond.
Re-framing the recycling experience to improve the culture
of sustainability on campus and beyond.
Designing for Social and
Environmental Change
Client: Indiana University/Purdue University
Our team approached this project with the main goal of redesigning the current bins to support the change from a multi-stream system to a single-stream system and to make it more convenient for people to recycle than to use the trash bins.
The existing recycling bins disappeared into the background so we proposed placing bins in high traffic areas and designed them vertically to provide a large area for our newly designed graphics, making them visible from far away. It was important that they still fit in with the existing architecture, so we used similar forms and materials to that which are already present in the surrounding architecture.
We created the slogan, “One Bin, All In” to be etched on to all bins to communicate the change to the new system and also designed a campaign to get student’s attention and make recycling a bit more personal.
Our final solution includes redesigned interior bins, updated graphics and campaign for interior and exterior bins, a proposal for an exterior roll-off with drive-up capabilities, and a central interior recycling center which provides education, information and opportunities for incentives and other programming activities and promotions.
Project Outline
Research
Existing System Audit
Community Partner Interviews
Ethnographic/User Research Studies
Analysis
Identifying System Needs
Analyzing Research Data
Ideation
Bin Design (form)
Visual/Verbal Messaging
Sustainablity Center/Roll-Off Designs
Prototyping/Testing
Scale Model Build/Test
User Response/Feedback
Design Document
Final Design Drawings
Copywriting
Layout
Final Community Partner Presentation
Personal Roles
Project Manager/Strategist
Research Tool Developer
Meeting Facilitator
Production Artist/Illustrator
Team
Rebecca Gleason
Kenneth Greene
Lindsay Callahan
Environmental Change
Client: Indiana University/Purdue University
Our team approached this project with the main goal of redesigning the current bins to support the change from a multi-stream system to a single-stream system and to make it more convenient for people to recycle than to use the trash bins.
The existing recycling bins disappeared into the background so we proposed placing bins in high traffic areas and designed them vertically to provide a large area for our newly designed graphics, making them visible from far away. It was important that they still fit in with the existing architecture, so we used similar forms and materials to that which are already present in the surrounding architecture.
We created the slogan, “One Bin, All In” to be etched on to all bins to communicate the change to the new system and also designed a campaign to get student’s attention and make recycling a bit more personal.
Our final solution includes redesigned interior bins, updated graphics and campaign for interior and exterior bins, a proposal for an exterior roll-off with drive-up capabilities, and a central interior recycling center which provides education, information and opportunities for incentives and other programming activities and promotions.
Project Outline
Research
Existing System Audit
Community Partner Interviews
Ethnographic/User Research Studies
Analysis
Identifying System Needs
Analyzing Research Data
Ideation
Bin Design (form)
Visual/Verbal Messaging
Sustainablity Center/Roll-Off Designs
Prototyping/Testing
Scale Model Build/Test
User Response/Feedback
Design Document
Final Design Drawings
Copywriting
Layout
Final Community Partner Presentation
Personal Roles
Project Manager/Strategist
Research Tool Developer
Meeting Facilitator
Production Artist/Illustrator
Team
Rebecca Gleason
Kenneth Greene
Lindsay Callahan
Existing bins were designed for multi-stream recycling, requiring recyclers to deposit materials into separate bins. These shown here are only one of several bin designs across campus, creating inconsistency and confusion.
Early sketches of a couple multi-stream bin designs we proposed.
An early bin design that didn't make it to production.
Our chosen bin design and approximate measurements.
Some of the details of our chosen bin design, along with a few construction options, refined by further proptotyping. Graphics panels sit on top of the bin. In the case that they cannot be used, a cap can be placed on top. An access door on the side allows for easy emptying and locking casters make it easier to move.
The final bin design and graphics created as part of the accompanying awareness campaign.
We have also designed docking "stations" for classroom and office slim jims.
As a part of the overall system, we designed these graphics to be applied to existing trash cans. This prompts users to consider the destination of trash waste.
This is an early prototype of the new bin design in context. Here, the bin is shown against a wall with the graphics panels attached. It can also be placed in the center of a hallway, leaving all four openings accessible to users. Or, it can be placed in a corner, where two openings (and two panels) are visible.
The bin is shown here without the graphics panels. A temporary lid is placed on top to close the opening.
