Interaction Design Practice - School of Informatics and Computing

September 2022 - October 2022

Mandar Bhoyar, Saransh Gupta, Nikhil Shinde, & Pranav Mirkad

Goals

• To ascertain people's pain points contributing to not recycling electronics

• To understand people's habits, processes, and reasons for recycling electronics  

• To increase literacy and frequency of electronic recycling 

• Design, prototype, and test a digital solution to increase electronic recycling efforts 

Executive Summary: 

We conducted a research study to understand people's pain points contributing to not recycling electronics and to increase literacy and frequency of electronic recycling. Our goal was to design, prototype, and test a digital solution to increase electronic recycling efforts.  

We surveyed 76 adult participants from across the world, including students and working professionals, to quantitatively understand the e-waste recycling habits of different age groups. We also conducted semi-structured user interviews with four 21-26 years old and four 35+ years old Indianapolis residents to capture ideological differences between two different populations regarding electronic recycling. Additionally, we observed a recycling event at the Indianapolis Marion County Public Safety Training Academy, and visited the Recycle Force recycling plant in Indianapolis to understand what happens to products when recycled.

The research I led revealed that the key hindrances to recycling electronics were the lack of nearby recycling centers (68%), lack of clarity about what can be recycled (60%), and inconvenience (52%). We also found that lack of access and awareness were significant pain points for users.

Using affinity mapping and thematic network analysis, we identified core themes from the users' perspective: access issues, poor electronic recycling literacy, sub-par public electronic recycling initiatives, and concerns regarding electronic recycling. We then used design ideation and brainstorming sessions to develop design solutions that fit the overall goal of increasing people's participation in electronic recycling through a multi-prong effort.

The e-Turn website design solution will increase people's knowledge about electronic recycling through community discussions, easier, single-location access to information, and appreciation of their recycling effort. The product will give people the information they need to recycle electronics via experts and the community and reward them for participating in electronic recycling.

Overall, our research study and digital solution provide a roadmap for increasing electronic recycling efforts and promoting sustainable practices.

Methodology Rationale

Surveys:

• I lead survey research with 76 adult participants from diverse backgrounds, including students and working professionals worldwide. This method was chosen to understand e-waste recycling habits across different age groups quantitatively.

• Rationale: Surveys are an effective means of gathering data from a wide and geographically diverse audience. They provided us with valuable quantitative insights into electronic recycling habits, helping us identify trends and patterns.

User Interviews:

• We conducted semi-structured user interviews with four individuals aged 21-26 and four aged 35+ who were Indianapolis residents. This approach allowed us to capture ideological differences between two distinct age groups regarding electronic recycling.

• Rationale: User interviews provided a rich source of qualitative data, enabling us to delve deep into the perspectives and experiences of participants. By contrasting the views of younger and older individuals, we could uncover valuable insights into the generational variations in electronic recycling habits.

Observation:

• We observed a recycling event at the Indianapolis Marion County Public Safety Training Academy and visited the Recycle Force recycling plant in Indianapolis to gain firsthand insights into the electronic recycling process.

• Rationale: Direct observation allowed us to witness the kinds of products people brought for recycling and understand the practical aspects of recycling operations. This provided a real-world context to our research findings.

Data Analysis:

• We employed affinity mapping and thematic network analysis to extract core themes from user perspectives, identifying pain points related to electronic recycling.

• Rationale: These methods enabled us to organize and visualize qualitative data, making it easier to identify recurring themes and actionable insights.

Usability Testing:

• We performed usability testing, including Think-Aloud sessions with six participants and a cognitive walkthrough.

• Rationale: Usability testing was crucial to validate the user-friendliness of our digital solution and identify areas for improvement. Think-Aloud sessions provided real-time insights into user interactions, while a cognitive walkthrough helped assess the effectiveness of the design.

In summary, our research methodology was carefully selected to provide a comprehensive understanding of electronic recycling challenges and opportunities. By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, we were able to identify key pain points, extract actionable insights, and develop a digital solution that addresses the specific needs and motivations of electronic recyclers. Our research study and resulting e-Turn website offer a roadmap for promoting sustainable electronic recycling practices and increasing public awareness and engagement.

Tools and Skills used:

Methodology & Procedure:

Survey - Qualtrics

• 76 adult participants were recruited 

• Students and working professionals from across the world 

• Used to quantitatively understand e-waste recycling habits of different age groups

User Interview - Semi-Structured 

• Four 21-26 years old and four 35+ years old Indianapolis residents 

• Designed to capture ideological differences between two different populations regarding electronic recycling  

Observation - Site Visit

• A recycling event to observe the kind of products people brought in to recycle

  • Recycling Event at Indianapolis Marion County Public Safety Training Academy

• A recycling plant to understand what happens to products when recycled

  • Recycle Force, Indianapolis

Key Points

Survey 

Non-Electronics Recycling Respondents (37 people)

Key Hindrances to Recycling Electronics:

• 68% of people: "Not many recycling centers nearby"

• 60% of people: "Not clear about what can be recycled"

• 52% of people: "Not convenient to recycle" 

• 2 people did not know they could recycle electronics 

Electronics Recycling Respondents (35 people)

There was a moderate positive association between the age of the survey respondents and their participation in recycling e-waste r(76) = .46, p < .01. 

User Interview 

Pain Points: 

Lack of Access 

• • "Information about what could be recycled and the location of recycling spots. Or even an address to mail stuff to." 

  • "Where centers are located, the centers' hours, what centers accept, the impact of recycling electronics"

  • "I wish it was easy to search electronic drop-off locations for recycling on Google Maps."  

  • "I have heard of Amazon's recycling initiative but I don't we have anything local. Sending stuff to Amazon takes too much effort, ya know?" 

Lack of Awareness

• • “What can be recycled, where, how, when?” 

  • “My friends and I actively participate in general recycling but we never considered electronic recycling. I wish they would focus on that in school when teaching about general recycling”

  • "What items can be recycled, How they should be handled while transportation, what not to recycle."

Persona

We personified our findings and observations into two unique personas reflecting two different generations of people to guide our design ideation and construction

Design Ideation and Brainstorming

Session 1: Open Discussion and Ideation 

Using our thematic analysis to guide ideation, we divided the session into four chunks to focus on each individual element of our analysis, i.e., public initiatives for e-waste recycling, poor electronic recycling literacy, accessibility issues with recycling, and personal concerns regarding electronic recycling. 

Session 2: Idea Discussion with an Outside Perspective

In this session, we worked with a classmate who understands HCI principles but is not associated with our team to deepen and narrow our ideation scope.  

We queried about what solutions they found more useful as a potential user. Specifically, we asked them to rank the ten core solutions we came up with from most usable and useful to least. 

Session 3: Finalization of Ideas 

We utilized the Crazy 8s design ideation method to hyper-narrow ideas. 

We each had eight minutes to come up with eight solutions based on a list of design directions generated in Session 1 and Session 2

Design Direction and Features 

The design solutions explained below fit the overall goal of increasing people’s participation in electronic recycling through a multi-prong effort. e-Turn website will increase people’s knowledge about electronic recycling through community discussions, easier, single-location access to information, and appreciation of their recycling effort.

 In short, our product will give people the information they need to recycle electronics via experts and the community, and reward them for participating in electronic recycling. 

We understand that putting the burden of taking part in recycling activities on individuals is not the most ideal way to increase sustainable practices given the small footprint of individuals when compared to entire organizations (Brynjarsdóttir et. al., 2012). 

But it is out of the scope of this product and project to champion organizational-level electronic recycling. However, we do expect an increase in individual-level participation in electronic recycling through the interactions of our product over time. 

An information section on where to recycle electronics

Our sample showed that people did not know what and how to recycle. Thus, by creating an information section, we can provide the necessary information to get people started and engaged in electronic recycling. 

A community platform to discuss e-waste 

We designed the community platform to be a thread-based discussion section for our users. 

With this, we not only aim to increase people’s awareness about electronic recycling but also generate discussion about other ways to reuse and adapt electronics through DIY methods, thus extending the life of an electronic and keeping it away from landfills.  

A reward system to motivate and appreciate recycling efforts 

We found that the “feel good” feeling was a key motivating factor in people who recycled electronics. 

While we cannot forcibly generate that feeling, we can - through appreciation and competition - get people to recycle and hopefully lay the foundation for the “feel good” feeling to come up. 

Secondary research showed that gift cards and/or discounts are an amazing way to show appreciation for the effort one puts in. Our process is modeled after Amazon and Best Buy's e-waste recycling efforts appreciation programs.  

Similarly, competition between people has always been a strong motivator to create reoccurring participation. If we can motivate people to recycle, then they will seek out all the information they need to recycle electronics. 

Storyboards

Storyboards helped us to visualize how users will utilize the various features in e-Turn 

Usability Testing 

Think-Aloud: 6 participants, 2 rounds of testing

• The type of icon used for displaying GPS coordinates 

• Request for city name to be used for search instead of zip code  

• Hover vs click of map button of a location 

• Overwhelming nature of the final information page 

Cognitive Walkthrough: 

• Hovering cards to explain what a button or a card will do 

• More filters for different types and sizes of electronics

• Increased search radius