ON THIS PAGE
Overview
Problem Discovery
Problem Validation
Finding the Gap
The Solution
The User
Potential Impact
Research and Process
Learning Outcomes

Repair Initiatives in Vancouver

Designing a service to tackle the growing issue of electronic waste in Vancouver by diverting it from landfills through effective repair and recycling.
Over the course of 10 weeks,I built a hypothetical service as an addition to the already existing systems of waste management in the city. I conducted preliminary and secondary investigation, identified the gap and intervened by developing a concept using a range of back end and front end prototyping tools with constant testing.
Timeline
September - December 2023
Role
Service designer, UI/UX designer
Tools
Figma
Problem Discovery

What problem am I trying to solve?

“Electronic waste once again led the way when it came to banned materials found in garbage loads headed to the Vancouver Landfill in Delta and other regional waste facilities last year (2022).”

Article by Delta Optimist
From the data, 3 items out of every 9 items are electronics that received a surcharge notice (as a penalty for putting banned waste in landfills), which means there are way more items that are not charged for.
Problem Validation

Why is this problem important?

Vancouver envisions transforming into a zero-waste city by 2040 for a sustainable future.

The landfill in Delta is overflowing with waste, leading to its closure soon. Canada passed the Right to Repair law on October 18, 2023, showing that even the country is pushing manufacturers to make sure
Finding the Gap

What is the gap in the current system?

Ever tried getting anything repaired in Vancouver? It is a hassle and inconvenience for everyone; it is difficult to move around and carry heavy materials that need to be repaired.

A consistent and reliable service that redirects electronic waste from the landfill into repair with convenience in the equation is what is missing currently. Additionally, while everyone is alright paying for the repair, nobody likes to pay delivery fees.
The Solution

The service and its components

Along with the weekly waste pickup that the city already does, an added service where electronic repair items get picked up, repaired, and dropped off to the owners.

icons source: city of Vancouver and evericons.com
scheduling
pickup
inventory
repair
delivery

01

Scheduling
The Vancollect app is an existing government app that currently tells the user about the waste pick-up schedule for their area and a search section to help segregate waste.

To integrate the repair service, I have designed a section with the features necessary to schedule the service.
check out the prototype
Image source: app store

02

Pickup
Users get to choose from two timings
1. Morning during general waste pickup between 7-11am
2. Evening (after work) between 6-9pm

Government staff comes pick up the items from your house at the selected time frame and takes it with them to the warehouse.
Image source: vancouver.ca

03

Inventory
Items are sorted by kind of item and problem by the management staff at the warehouse, which will be located in Delta, South Vancouver, or on the industrial land (located in South Vancouver, SVIA).
Image source: google.com

04

Repair
Specialised technicians look at the item and give an estimate of the time it would take to repair it so that the user knows around when they will receive the item back. They then repair it and give it back to management.
Image source: gesrepair.com

05

Drop-off
Once repaired, the user gets the opportunity to either pick up from collection points or select a time and date from specific schedules to get it delivered and dropped off at their homes, similar to other delivery services.
Image source: unsplash.com

The Prototype

check out the prototype
The User

Who benefits from this?

I am specifically designing with the elderly population of the city and people who are disabled in mind, but also creating such that it benefits all in the city.

Potential Impact

If the repair service is added to the existing service for waste management in Vancouver.
Here is what will happen:

A more environmentally conscious community that promotes mindful consumption and a shift from a disposable mentality.
With the implementation of the service, we diminish the influx of electronics into landfills.
By prioritising repair over disposal, we actively curtail the environmental footprint associated with electronic waste.
The deliberate intervention not only extends the lifespan of electronic devices but fosters a circular economy of materials.
Research

Preliminary research

Becoming curious about the share-repair-reuse space and circular economy of materials in Vancouver.

The project had began with preliminary investigations on a statement: " You have a big pile of used textiles (sheets and towels and worn-out cloth). You don’t think you have any use for this material - what can you do with it? " Understanding how a user might answer this and what search patterns exist to understand our positionally.
search pattern

Secondary research and Precedents

I conducted research on how the city is currently addressing electronic waste and explored insights into various global approaches to addressing this issue.

The secondary research involved understanding the waste management system in the city, organizations involved in the share-repair-resue and circular economy of materials. Learning from precedents involved gaining insights from countries with high recycling and segregation habits and compared it with those with low recycling and more waste going into landfills.
Fees
Most organisations would charge people for the pickup of recyclable materials and additionally charge them for recycling the items. It is harder to see the bigger picture if there is no immediate benefit for people.
Convenience
There are not a lot of businesses that repair electronic goods making each place quite far for most people. Lugging electronic items in the rain and snow i just not ideal.
Shifting perspectives
Germany promotes a "repair instead of replace" mindset, encouraging consumers to fix products rather than discard them. Repair cafes and workshops have emerged, fostering community-based repair initiatives.

Field Research

Visiting businesses in the GRIID and calling city services (311) to understand the system better and how, as designers, we can enter the space and make something beneficial.

After visiting Food Stash and Recycling Alternatives, I learnt more about what the business need and want and how they want people to contribute to the existing service
truck with 3 categories built by Robert @ RA
compressing paper and cardboard to send to Washington since Vancouver doesn’t have any pulp mills.
“ For a local circular economy to be built we need hyper-localisation, which means protecting industrial land here. There needs to be a verifiable chain of custody of what happens when the product is made, people buy it to when it is thrown.”
- Co-owner Louise Schwarz

User Surveys

I investigated people's perception and understanding of the waste management system through user surveys

Given the time restraint of this school project, I decided to send out a survey via social media and was able to get 24 responses from people who have been in Vancouver for more than 2 years. The goal of this survey was to gain perspective about what they thought was missing in the waste management system, inconveniences they experienced and how they segregate, all this is categorized in 2 groups. The first group lives in apartment buildings, and the second group lives in single row homes.
Apartment building residents
Single row house residents
Inconveniences
Not knowing what goes in what bin and having to google it.
Specific pickup day for waste. Once a week or once in two weeks.
Missing services
No way to get things repaired or recycled easily
Not knowing what goes in what bin and having to google it.
Segregation methods
glass, plastic, paper and cardboards, compost, garbage
unbroken glass, plastic, paper and cardboards, compost, garbage (broken glass, soiled paper and cardboard)
VanCollect App Awareness
100% of people were not aware
90% of people were aware (since they had to keep the bins out themselves for pickup)
Initial Idea

Key concepts and structure

Designing a government run repair hub to foster a community that is environmentally conscious.

Repair items get collected during the weekly garbage pickups, after having put in a note on VanCollect for the same. Once repaired, they get delivered back to the owner. All items come with a small fee for delivery, or you can pick them up at the community centres or libraries once they are repaired. Large items would come with a fee for labour.The repair hub would also come with tool rentals, diy kits, etc.

Partnerships with waste management systems like those in the GRIID that have proven to work for the city of Vancouver should be asked to make collective green waste management plans for neighbourhoods.Giving tax benefits and subsidies to staff, users, volunteers, and businesses could push for more involved participation.

Journey Mapping and Service Blueprint

I mapped user, product, and staff journeys to help create a holistic service blueprint with touchpoints to directly improve user experience

user journey
staff journey
item journey
While creating the service blueprint, gaps in the service were filled. Edge cases were taken into account to ensure all key features worked for the users or if there were alternatives available.

Added details:
For the elderly who don’t feel comfortable with online payments, they can call the bank and do call banking, which is what a lot of people did during COVID-19 times.
Those elderly who don’t feel confident doing the process of creating a pickup event on the phone could call the city to do it for them, similar to what the assistance service process would be (calling 311, the city services).
A pickup and delivery system to not only add convenience but also as a practical method for days when it is raining or snowing.
Additional evening pickup (6-9 pm) for working people unavailable to given their electronic items during the day
service blueprint
Front-end Protyping and Iterations

Redesigning the app

Improving the user experience of all features in the existing Vancollect App, by simplifying information on the main pages.

In terms of design, the Vancollect app was not the nicest-looking and wasn’t very intuitive, so I decided to redesign the app with a cleaner layout with the addition of my repair section.
redesigned app process

Designing in an Idealistic World

When is it right to redesign? Looking at the project from the point of view of the stakeholders

During initial research, I recognised that the Vancollect app would be better if redesigned completely. Once I was done with the redesign I was questioned as part of feedback if that was right thing to do since I was gonna pitch it to the city as a final goal. I understood that giving more work for the city to do won’t be ideal. So I designed my section of the app with the already existing VanCollect app style so that in a real world situation the city focuses on the service and the repair section in the app and if and when needed changes the entire app.
added section to existing app

Gamification

Integrating game-like elements into a non-game environment to enhance user engagement and motivation.

I added a card at the top of the home page that shows the user the coins they earned by repairing items, the reduced CO2 production (carbon footprint) by repairing and not disposing of an item, and the number of items repaired. This is a good way to motivate people to keep repairing. The more points, the more incentives there will be in the future.
point keeping system at the top
see the final prototype
Learning outcomes

Notes to future self

Having tried a variety of UX methods, it is fair to say I learned a few things. Feedback and iterations were central to creating the user-centred designs.

Understanding when it is right to redesign and questioning if reinventing the wheel is really necessary.
Thinking from an ideal world view, keeping stakeholders in mind, makes the project more plausible.
It is important to recognise when a project can be a pilot project to begin with. Insights from post release feedback can help make changes that can be brought to more number of people.  
© 2024 Ishita Arora