The following is copied from the ECIDA, see the link below for more!
SOS is a new blog series brought to you by the ECIDA, to expose emerging sustainable ideas of the Emily Carr student body.
“COMPOST-NOW: Because Karma’s A Bitch”
Jacqueline Tollington is in her 4th year of the Industrial Design program. Currently Jacqueline is approaching the halfway mark in developing her 2012 grad project. She has initiated a composting system suitable for cities transitioning into the composting lifestyle. The system design titled Compost-Now includes a new composting bin, personal food waste storage container and a marketing campaign.
Jacqueline Tollington
ECIDA: What is the mission for Compost-Now?
JACQUELINE: My design intends to offer an accessible and attractive composting option for residents of the downtown core of Vancouver.
E: This is quite an admirable goal. How do you envision this system to work?
J: The system I am working with allows Vancouver residents to drop off food wastes at conveniently placed local grocery stores, where they are later picked up by the City of Vancouver and transported to a composting facility. After being fully composted into nutrient-rich soil, the compost can be sold at grocery stores and local farms.
E: I understand a grocery drop off location could save in excess transportation—especially since people frequently make trips for groceries—but what can you say about private pick-up?
J: Currently, Vancouver offers a compost pickup program in the form of bin pickup at private single unit residences. However, the implementation of this service to multi-unit residences is yet to take place and there’s only talk that it could be available in the next few years. Compost-Now provides an immediate solution for the composting of food wastes until a longer-term bin pickup program can be employed, while also providing the option of becoming permanent.
Compost-Now System Map
E: Final question: Given your research so far, where did you find your biggest insight(s)?
J: While volunteering at the West End Drop Spot to support local composting initiatives, I realized both product and communication design opportunities. For example, the composting bins are very inefficient because they do not provide a flat surface for people to place and open their waste containers. I’ve also witnessed additional hassles as a result of poor container design.
The composting programs are particularly diluted with generic green promotional material. I believe if the marketing aesthetics were catered to a more targeted audience, such as a more updated, ethnographic group prevalent in the city, there could be more people interested in such a topic. My audience of choice is identifiable as young and alternative. I am thereby attempting to market more inclusively, reaching a wider and less informed audience.
~End~
Thank you for participating this week Jacqueline. We look forward to the outcomes of Compost-Now.
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