Door-to-Door Review

1. Door-to-Door Review • Taking example from HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) industry (HVAC industry uses in home visits to help individuals conserve energy) • In home visits from city evaluate user’s recycling habits and container organization • Individuals are incentivised with a coupon or possibly a tax deduction User-Centered Design: Design Concepts — Mike Bukhin & David Shulman

2. In Store Signage • Campaign by city begins at point of purchase • In store signage can give instruction on how to properly process the different types of recyclables and remind individuals on the environmental necessity to recycle • Signage can be detail oriented and organized by store aisle User-Centered Design: Design Concepts — Mike Bukhin & David Shulman

3. Ad Campaign for Recycling Process • City-wide ad campaign shows citizens the full recycling process • Recycling process begins at an item’s purchase and continues through to the item’s pickup, processing and reintroduction into another product • With a connection to the recycling process, the hope is that citizens feel a stronger social responsibility to recycle User-Centered Design: Design Concepts — Mike Bukhin & David Shulman

4. Passive RFID • Use Passive RFID to give individuals an even stronger connection to the recycling process • As a promotion, certain purchased products have an embedded RFID tag. As the object moves through the recycling process, individuals can monitor its location online • Makes recycling educational, instructive and fun • Like the ad campaign, a stronger connection to the process will create greater responsibility and lead to an uptake in recycling User-Centered Design: Design Concepts — Mike Bukhin & David Shulman

5. Public Shaming • Recycling may be the law, but it’s not taken seriously because of weak penalties and fines • If we want to protect the environment, we must start taking recycle and all other aspects of the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) much more seriously • Employ tactics used by state child support agencies to shame ‘deadbeat dads’ to highlight ‘deadbeat recyclers’ User-Centered Design: Design Concepts — Mike Bukhin & David Shulman

6. Eligibility Stickers • Since most people don’t know what’s recyclable, tell them at the point-of-purchase. • Stickers, similar to those affixed to cigarette packages, can clearly and unequivocally tell consumers which packages are recyclable and which packages aren’t. • The letter “R” could represent “Recyclable” while the letters “NR” could represent “Not Recyclable”. It’s clear, concise and to the point. User-Centered Design: Design Concepts — Mike Bukhin & David Shulman

7. Web-Based Eligibility Verification System • Using something similar to a bar code scanner attached to a computer, users can scan a bar code/SKU/ISBN to see if item in question is eligible to be recycled. • System could tell user which part of a multi-unit item is recyclable. For instance, when buying a package of cookies that contains on outer package as well as an interior plastic holder, system tells user to recycle the plastic holder and to discard the outer packaging. User-Centered Design: Design Concepts — Mike Bukhin & David Shulman

8. Phone-Based Eligibility Verification System • Similar to the web-based system, this solution allows users to call on dedicated number and enter SKU/ISBN/UPC numbers to see if item in question is eligible to be recycled. • System could tell user which part of a multi-unit item is recyclable. For instance, when buying a package of cookies that contains on outer package as well as an interior plastic holder, system tells user to recycle the plastic holder and to discard the outer packaging. User-Centered Design: Design Concepts — Mike Bukhin & David Shulman

9. Rework Existing NYC Recycling Literature • Part of the confusion our subjects encountered stemmed from unclear direction from the NYC Sanitation Department, which runs the recycling program. Many of our subjects complained that existing recycling literature is unclear. Subjects cited confusion with terms such as “heavily soiled” items as ineligible; what’s too soiled and just soiled enough? • Creating clearer literature, with instructions on how to determine what’s eligible can help to alleviate confusion, and increase effective recycling. User-Centered Design: Design Concepts — Mike Bukhin & David Shulman

10. City-Sponsored Group Tutorials • If people understood what to recycle and what to trash, their ability to recycle more effectively would, no doubt, increase. This concept sees the city sponsoring tutorial sessions for groups -- by neighborhood, company, organization, etc. -- by which representatives from the city teach people the roots of recycling, what to recycle and the channels of recycling. • As these sessions progress, groups are given the opportunity to visit recycling centers to see how the processes of recycling, how items are recycled and how ineligible items foul up the process. User-Centered Design: Design Concepts — Mike Bukhin & David Shulman