Improving the recycling rates of cooking oil for biofuel use.
Improving the Recycling Rates of Cooking Oil for Biofuel Use. Major Project Design / Research Report By CHIA-CHIEN YUAN / YUA12367730 13th November 2013 Mdes Service Design Innovation University of the arts london / London College of Communication
C o n ten t s Acknowedge 1.0 Introduction
P.7
1.1
Report Summary
P.11
1.2
Background
P.13
1.2.1 Personal Premise and Cooperation with a recycled Used Cooking Oil Company
P.13
1.2.2 Creating Awareness of Recycled Used Cooking Oil.
P.16
1.2.3 Waste Cooking Oil Turned into Biofuel in the UK
P.18
1.2.4 Community Participation in Recycling Schemes 1.2.5 Sustainability in Local Business
P.20 P.22
1.2.6 Young People’s Conceptions of the Environment: Recycling
P.23
1.3
Area of Research
P.25
1.4
Research Aim
P.31
2.0 Research Methods 2.1
Primary Research
P.35
2.1.1 Shadow Study with a Proper Oil Driver
P.35
2.1.2 Champion Interviews
P.36
2.1.3 Observation of Local restaurants and
2.2
Community
P.37
Secondary Research
P.38
2.2.1 News of Serious Clogged Sewer Caused by Used Cooking Oil in London
P.38
2.2.2 Mayor of London Encourages Public Transportation in London to Use Biofuel
P.39
3.0 Research Findings and Analysis 3.1
Driver Tour
P.44
3.2
Champion Interview
P.52
3.3
Local Restaurant Interview
P.56
3.4
Impact of Setting Collected Container in the Community
P.60
3.5
School Interview
P.72
3.6
Research Conclusion
P.74
4.0 Design Process 4.1
Concept Generation
P.77
4.2
Concept Development
P.79
4.2.1 Storyboard
P.80
4.2.2 Persona
P.88
4.2.3 Stakeholder
P.90
4.2.4 Competitor Matrix
P.91
4.2.5 Prototype
P.94
4.3
User Testing and Feedback
P.110
4.4
Design Outcome
P.111
5.0 Project Conclusions
P.123
Bibliography : [a to z by writer’s last name]
P.125
"Once you understand the destruction taking place, unless you do something to change it, even if you never intended to cause such destruction, you become involved in a strategy of tragedy. You can continue to be engaged in that strategy of tragedy, or you can design and implement a strategy of change." (Cradle to Cradle, p.44)
A c k n o w l e d g e m e nt s I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to my guide Dr. Alison Prendiville and Cordula Friedlander for both of their exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of this report. The blessing, help and guidance given by them time to time shall carry me a long way in the journey of life on which I am about to embark. I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to Company Proper Oil, for his cordial support, valuable information and guidance, which helped me in completing this task through various stages. I am obliged to classmates from 2013 MDes Service Design Innovation, for the valuable information provided by them in their respective fields. I am grateful for their cooperation during the period of my assignment. Lastly, I thank almighty, my parents and friends for their constant encouragement without which this assignment would not be possible.
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1.0 Introduction 1.1
Report Summary
1.2
Background
1.3
Area of Research
1.4
Research Aim
1.1 Report Summary There are two foci to this project – the first is
develop a system within communities and
to build the connection between
local businesses via a good reward system.
people. The aim is to encourage people to
The Design Process presents the
cooking oil. In addition Proper Oils need to
by the use of Design Methods such as
local schools and communities.
matrixes, visualizations and rough prototyping
This service design project is being
process was employed to solidify design
a company that recycles used cooking oils
target’s rewarding system.
of used cooking oil for Proper oil is from local
To achieve this goal, we used co-design with
people to recycle used cooking oil.
champions of communities. According to
Nowadays, there are various oil recycle
we filmed the recyclable activities to improve
cooking oil in London; it is not uncommon
the particularity of this service is that it offers
new oil for used. Therefore, building up a new
awareness of recycling used cooking oil.
Proper Oils and environmentally conscious become community champions for reusing
conceptualization and development process
develop new business partnerships between
personas, storyboards and competitors
undertaken in conjunction with Proper Oils and turns it into biofuel. The main collection
businesses, buying it in bulk to encourage
to develop the ideas. An iterative design
of primary service touchpoints for different
local restaurants, local schools and current observation of daily life of user experience,
companies undertaking the recycling of used
the collection waste oil at home. In short,
that a recycling oil company may exchange
the “attractive” platform generating people’s
rewarding system between local businesses
and communities is an opportunity for Proper oil.
The goal of this project is provide
mechanisms – to support and enable
individuals and organizations to become
community champions for the recycling of
cooking oil. Through user centered design methods, insights were gathered. The result is for a new opportunity for Proper oil to
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1.2 Background
1.2.1 Personal Premise and Cooperation with a recycled Used Cooking Oil Company The initial project proposal arose from
benefits and an economic return. They
oil in the kitchen. Nowadays, there’s a
buying it in bulk to encourage people to
curiosity about how to deal with used cooking
serious problem in London with all the oil and grease that is clogging up the sewers of. London is a multi-cultural city and given the different cooking habits
it is important for
people to be taught how to dispose of used cooking oil at home. Proper Oil wants help in developing such methods and creating
more community champions. To this end, Proper Oil has an unblocking the community
webpage which also gives information on how to become a champion of the community
collected cooking oil from local businesses, recycle their used cooking oil through
their community champion. Proper Oil has a license issued by the Environment Agency to ensure waste carriers comply with environmental regulations as laid
down in The Environment Act 1990. Having accomplished a great deal since its launch,
Proper Oils continues to build on its success
with an exciting new collaborative project to optimize biodiesel production.
and collect points. However, the webpage is
The project began with Proper Oil’s first
to boost the project outcome by developing a
community scheme. They launched the
not particularly appealing and I was hoping sustainable, reward-based model that could offer a new business model for Proper Oil.
Founded by Londoner Stephen Hurton in
meeting about the new unblocking the scheme in March 2013 and less than ten
champions have so far become involved.
The current champions only knew about
2007, Proper Oil is an innovative business venture that set out to prove that working
locally was better and that a sustainable
business could produce both sustainable
13
Proper Oil via council mail, the website and word of mouth, therefore it is essential to
find more opportunities of promoting the concept of Proper Oil champions. The first
thing that came to my mind was what sort
of reward mechanisms would encourage people to sign-up and become involved? I
had t0 then understand what motivated the current champions and what were the
barriers stopping others. By visualizing the daily practices involving cooked oil, I could understand where the obstacles might lie,
such as finding space to keep the container
and how to deal with the grease and smell. Next, I asked how could I increase the visibility of Proper Oil in order to encourage the community to become involved and discuss the project.
Gaining a deeper
understanding of local business that had
already cooperated with Proper Oil and
why was also important research for this report. To make people aware of the need
to recycle used cooking oil involves raising
awareness of how used cooking oil causes environmental problems and of the benefits of biofuels in the environment.
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1.2.2 Creating Awareness of Recycled Used Cooking Oil. The negative effect caused by previous means of getting rid of waste oil at home.
In August 2013, BBC News reported that
the biggest ever “fatberg” had been found in a London sewer, stating that: “Thames
Water says a ‘bus-sized lump’ of food fat mixed with wet wipes formed in drains under London Road in Kingston upon Thames.”
The blockage was discovered after residents
in nearby flats complained that they couldn’t flush their toilets. This shows how household behavior caused a negative impact on the
environment which in turn rebounded on the people. ‘It was so big it damaged the sewer
and repairs have taken up to six weeks.’ [BBC (August 6, 2013)
‘Britain’s biggest “fatberg” removed from London sewer’. (BBC News), 22 October, 2013]
One research has shown that “There are
around 250 million liters of Used Cooking Oil produced in the UK every year. In
the past, the UK has had no collection of
UCO from domestic premises provided by a national body or by a majority of local authorities, and so a high proportion of this
oil is disposed of down the drain or sent
16
to landfill. DEFRA estimates that 150,000 blockages per year are caused by fat, oil and
grease being poured into the drains, at cost to utility companies of £15 million per annum.
Meanwhile, landfill sites produce 40% of the UK’s methane emissions and 3% of the UK’s
greenhouse gas emissions.” In the past most households drained the used cooking oil into
the sink basin as they were unaware of what that would cause. Since the UK government has become aware of the problem, it has
started to encourage people not to drain the oil into the sink basin and has launched a recycle used cooking oil scheme with councils and local businesses. However, recycling
used cooking oil first needs to change people’s behavior and evoke environmental
awareness. An awareness of recycling waste cooking oil needs to be promoted in the
local community and local schools. People
from many different countries live in London and the easiest way to create awareness is through school education. This would be an
important influence in teaching people how to recycle used cooking oil at home.
Waste to energy
....and energy is created to heat and power to the society
1.2.3 Waste Cooking Oil Turned into Biofuel in the UK Agri Energy is the UK’s largest distributor
have discovered the recycling scheme
and the largest collector of waste cooking
organizations. Proper Oil has been officially
of fresh cooking oil to the catering industry
oil, collecting from over 60,000 catering establishments in the UK It’s Chief Executive, Dick Searle said: “Latest reports from the
Renewable Fuels Agency show that in just over a year, used cooking oil has become the primary fuel source for biofuel used in
UK transport, delivering one third of the volume of biofuel used on Britain’s roads.”
(“Environmental Audit Committee-Green
Economy” www.parliament.uk, 23 August,
2011. Web 22 October, 2013.) Furthermore, the Mayor of London wants to see 20%
of the 250 million liters of fuel used per
year to run the city’s buses be biodiesel.
(Environmenttimes 22 July 22,2013): ‘Mayor of London wants city’s waste cooking oil to run its bus fleet’. (Environmenttimes, 22 October, 2013]
The news shows the recycling waste cooking oil is a critical issue for the government. The government’s attitude on this issue is
an important key point in assisting Proper Oil in developing more potential community
champions as most of the current champions
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through local councils or similar credible
approved by the Environment Agency.
However, one oil company, Olleco, estimates
that 20% of the used cooking oil produced by the UK catering industry is stolen every
year and traded on the black market. Some stolen cooking oil was sold to unsuspecting
processing plants for conversion to biofuel. The development of biofuel is a way of reducing lifecycle carbon emissions by up
to 90% and its widespread use has enabled
the Government to exceed its greenhouse gas savings target in road transport by 5%.
However, it is important that people choose a
credible recycled oil company with a proper legal process of making biofuel.
1.2.4 Community Participation in Recycling Schemes As early as 1918, Mary Parker Follett
in a recycle used cooking oil scheme. We
achieving democratic legitimacy through the
recycling used cooking oil at home is related
(1998, p. 245) proposed a “new method� of development of neighborhood organizations.
"Every neighborhood must be organized;
the neighborhood groups must then be integrated through larger intermediary
will also discuss how creating the habit of to past behavior.
Past Behavior and Habit
groups, into a true state. Neither our
Past behavior tends to predict intentions
administered until representatives from
1979; Ouellette & Wood, 1998; Terry et
cities nor our states can ever be properly
neighborhood groups meet to discuss and
thereby to correlate the needs of all parts of the city, of all parts of the state."
By the late twentieth century, it would appear that Follett’s vision of neighborhood
democracy was beginning to take hold,
as systems for neighborhood democracy were beginning to become established
and organizations for neighborhood consultation developed within many American and European cities. As we know,
the communities in London are governed by
their district councils, so it is vital to have a good relationship with the council if Proper
Oil wants to approach these communities.
How people can be encouraged to become a community champion is something this research will discover. as well as ask what is the incentive for people to become involved
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and future behavior (Bentler & Speckart, al., 1999; Conner, Sheeran, Norman, & Armitage, 2000). Nevertheless, the role of
past behavior in the prediction of intentions
and future behavior has continued to attract a great deal of attention from other authors
(e.g. Eagly & Chaiken, 1993; Sutton, 1994;
Conner & Armitage, 1998; Ouellette & Wood, 1998). The extent to which past behavior may be habitual also has implications for the prediction of intentions, and these are discussed below.
Habits are typically construed as learned acts that become automatic responses in specific situations (Triandis, 1977, 1980); repetition of
the behavior is not therefore dependent upon conscious intention to repeat that behavior,
but on stimulus cues (Aarts, Verplanken &
van Knippenberg, 1998). Habits are most easily envisaged as simple routine behaviors,
like how people now know that plastic bottles
need to be recycled. Behaviors that are more
complex but that have become ‘routinized’ may be better described as habitual behavior patterns (Verplanken et al., 1998) The
behavior involves a sequence of actions
and responses and while responses within each phase may be relatively automatic,
some control or thought is required between each phase (Bargh, 1989). Such a model is
appropriate in this report for understanding any habit developed for recycling used
cooking oil: containers for used oil would be retained and stored properly in the kitchen,
at a later stage they would be taken to the recycling barrels of the community or local school. According to Bem’s (1972)
self-perception theory, if people are in the habit of performing a particular behavior, they are likely to assume that they have
intended to do this, and they will therefore hold positive intentions to perform that
behavior in the future. This would explain the strength of the relationship between past behavior and intention. The intention and attraction of recycling oil for people is an
important connection between Proper Oil and households.
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1.2.5 Sustainability in Local Business Sustainable development is the means
chips shops and restaurants of various
achieving an identified set of sustainable
similar common cooking methods that are
by which a company progresses towards goals and harnessing competitive advantage. Sustainability developed as a response to
quantitative environmental and economic
data that indicated that current trends
in economic growth were not viable in the long run (Gibson, 2006). The futureoriented nature of sustainable development
involves education and requires community participation. Restaurants are more than
material inputs and outputs, they are a people-oriented industry and building a good reputation is an important part of being a sustainable company.
In today’s political and economic climate,
consumers are more and more frequently demanding sustainable business practices from the restaurants they frequent.
Recycling is often a simple place to start.
In particular, recycling cooking oil into biodiesel can pay multiple dividends by
benefitting the environment. By consuming in an environmentally friendly restaurant, consumers believe they are doing something
good for the environment. Most local
businesses such as kebab shops, fish and
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nationalities use deep fryers and other
an excellent source material for biodiesel.
In addition to benefitting the environment by
offsetting petroleum and reducing carbon
emissions, recycling cooking oil into biodiesel
can have a significant positive impact on the local economy.
1.2.6 Young People’s Conceptions of the Environment: Recycling Schools are environments that establish a
series of developmental tasks for children. Therefore, school education is an important
way to build up knowledge of recycling oil at home. Environmental education
in schools is an important strategy in
achieving environmental improvement. However, it needs to be based on children’s understanding of environment rather than
on assumptions of what children know and believe. By developing their knowledge about recycling oil at home, it will also create
awareness among parents. Proper Oil has launched workshops in primary schools and this research seeks to discover the how children’s interest is motivated.
It is also in the interests of the research conducted to discover how to reach more potential community champions who will
cooperate with Proper Oil and how to
maintain a long term relationship with local restaurants now and in the future.
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1.3 Area of Research There are three aspects of research in
this report. First of all, various research methodologies have been employed to
understand what local restaurants do and the expectations that. Secondly, we have
interviewed current community champions to understand any difficulty they might face in
being a champion. For this, we visited a local primary school to interview a teacher about how children and parents reacted to the oil
recycling scheme set up at the school. All of this was to help Proper Oil gain greater understanding about their unblocking the
community scheme and how to attract people to become involved.
25
Local Restaurant Research This part of the study analyses the possibility
of forming connections between the local
community and local restaurants. This
involves investigating the attitudes and expectations of local restaurants regarding
more local restaurants to join this scheme
and maintain their current business partners.
It would seem that a rewards scheme would be a great incentive to attract more local business partners to Proper Oil.
what they might want to do and how they
The Barrier of Champion in the Community
Proper Oil. Most of the local restaurants
The research carried out aimed to resolve
suitable and safe location and understand
they launched the used cooking oil recycling
can connect to the local community through
store the barrels of used cooking oil in a the benefits for both their business and
environment if they recycle the used cooking
oil. As well as creating greater opportunity for their business, the local restaurants
are willing to help various charities and
the local community. Establishing a good
reputation in the community is essential for a local restaurant to make their business sustainable.
The questionnaire showed Proper Oil had several competitors, thus providing a comparison matrix to demonstrate the company’s strengths and weaknesses. The
comparison matrix also demonstrates the opportunities for Proper Oil to establish the
scheme in the community. Finally, Proper Oil has to determine how to both persuade
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any difficulties the champion might face when scheme in their community. Initially, the
community champion might face opposite
opinion from members of their community
over concerns of cleanliness in regard to where the barrel was located. Then, there is
the central issue of how people collect the oil at home. According to household interviews,
most do not fry food every day; therefore they might only collect the oil little by little.
The issue to be resolved is how to keep the
oil-free container in the kitchen and what happens when they carry the container to the
community barrel. There are two different types of community, gated and non-gated. In order to follow Environment Agency rules,
the community needs to have suitable place to store the barrel, however as there are oil
thefts by illegal oil companies, the community
play an increasingly dynamic and pivotal
observing a barrel that had been set up in the
However, developing the new business
needs to be gated. We spent some months community and found it was contaminated by
residents’ badly packaged containers. Inside,
without a dividing system, the barrel easily became oily and smelly. We found that an important issue in order for the champion
to encourage people to become involved was to ensure the barrel was in a clean and convenient surrounding.
Involving the Local Primary School Proper Oil has become involved with some
local primary schools in the southwest of London.
Some of the primary schools have Proper Oil educational workshops, but do not
have follow-up assignments. One of the
primary schools recently set up a recycling barrel on its campus and teacher put the
Proper Oil flyer in the parent contact book. After interviewing the primary school, we identified a creative opportunity for a new
business model for Proper Oil which could also link with local businesses and the local
community to recruit potential community champions. The new business model should
role in today’s knowledge-based economies. model through primary school students
requires the careful consideration and
planning. How to attract the interest of the young generation and get them talking about things is an important concern in growing
the connection through the new model. Building up knowledge about recycling oil at home is similar to the launch of recycling
plastic bottles. It is essential to stimulate knowledge about recycling oil at home in
order to establish a continuous activity. There are three main targets we will discuss in this
research to create a new business model for
Proper Oil. Firstly, after the primary school launches the scheme, there needs to be
an added attraction, such as a work sheet. Next, we need to help the school keep the oil secure and safe. Finally, we will discuss
dividing a rewards scheme in the school into
two parts: a competition between different years in the school and a comparison scheme between other schools.
All in all, the three leading targets mentioned above illustrate ways to expand the f
unblocking the community scheme through
27
an organized rewards scheme. The new
business model will lead to Proper Oil
collecting more barrels and expanding their business.
Case Study- Workshop of Love Food Hate Waste Observing a similar scheme provides great insight for this research. There are various
recycling websites and after analyzing them we found that Love Food Hate Waste, a well-
known and well-organized body, provided
a similar scenario related to our future prototype. Love Food Hate Waste is a related branch of WRAP, which is a UK recycling
organization. Their website teaches people how to reduce food waste at home and they hold regular workshops to teach people how to reduce food waste and how to become
a champion in their community. In the
workshop, they show what happens if people
don’t become involved in this scheme and additionally provide many useful methods
of preserving food at home. It provides
this research with strong evidence that understanding customer needs and providing a service stimulates potential champions.
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The information to teach people how to reduce food waste.
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1.4 Research Aim
The aim of conducting the research is to explore ways of designing interventions and motivators which prompt householders to engage in the recycle oil scheme with Proper Oil.
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2.0 Research Methods 2.1
Primary Research
2.2
Secondary Research
2.1 Primary Research
2.1.1 Shadow Study with a Proper Oil Driver After the first meeting with Proper Oil, this
After two extensive journeys with a driver
Oil driver and interviewing community
the important insights derived. The shadow
research began by shadowing a Proper
champions. It also observed local restaurants and communities. For the above research,
information about used cooking oil on the Internet provided essential knowledge.
from Proper Oil, our shadow study organized study with a driver from Proper Oil was
carried out to gather in-depth information on the current service the company provides for their customers. For example, they provide
the lid and flyer for the community. But it is easily ignore by People. It also showed how
the company’s internal structure organized their drivers, such as by providing information
about the local restaurants and the route of the collection as well as points that need
to be considered like opening times and parking spaces of the local restaurants. In
order to provide a more efficient service for
local business, Proper Oil needs to overcome
any difficulties the driver might face during
their journey. However, how the drivers measure and diagnose the quality of the
used oil is vague. Nor does the website make it clear how to distinguish the quality of the
used oil. If the customer knows the method of determining the condition of the used oil, they will better evaluate and trust the company
they are cooperating with. Shadowing
the driver played an important role in this
research and revealed that establishing connections with the local restaurants is both an efficient and valuable method for the business.
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2.1.2 Champion Interviews We have interviewed three champions
might cause people to keep away from it.
provided various insights and touch-points
for being a community champion of the
since the start of the project and they have about being a community champion. Firstly,
how are potential champions informed about the recycle used cooking oil at home scheme
in their community. The current champions
However, the most attractive motivation scheme is not just the enthusiasm for being environmentally friendly but also a wellorganized and clean recycling scheme.
found out about the scheme via emails from the council or by word of mouth, there it is
important to have a well-organized system
to establish a good connection between the current champion and other potential champions. Another insight gained was how to maintain an oil-free condition at home or
in the community. From our observation, the place people store the container at home and how they collect the oil in
are the main
issues faced. According to the Environment
Agency, people need to put the containers into the barrel for which Proper Oil has
negotiated S2 exemption status for all the collection sites set up as part of Unblocking
the Community. This requirement, however, might create an oily situation which might reduce community motivation to recycle oil. As we saw in the community studied, the
barrel had been contaminated with badly packaged containers and when the barrel was opened it was smelly and oily, which
36
If people is first time to set up the scheme in their community, they need to fill out the form of responsibility for collecting vessel. Environment Agency S2 exemption Unblocking the Community (Proper Oils) have ascertained that in order to qualify for Environment Agency S2 exemption for the collection and storage of waste cooking and oils and fats as part of this scheme, the following conditions must apply: • • • • •
The wastes are stored within the container they are brought to the school in and not poured into another container The containers are stored in an area that has secondary containment and a sealed drainage system - this applies as long as the individual sealed tins remain sealed within the 60 litre green collection vessel The storage area is secure, preferably lockable Wastes accepted are only EWC 20 01 25 – ie edible oil and fat only Wastes are limited to 5000 Tonnes per year
For further details, see http://www.environmentagency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/S2_exemption.pdf Advice from London Fire Brigade The storage vessels should be included as part of an overall site fire risk assessment. There are two essential steps to a fire risk assessment – the identification of a particular fire hazard and the minimising of any associated risk to a tolerable level. In terms of fire hazard, waste cooking oils and fats need to be exposed to a significant heat source for extended periods before they will burn, so it is essential that the green collection barrel is not exposed to sources of heat. Ideally it should be kept in a shady area. The green barrel should not be placed anywhere that might constitute an obstruction to a fire exit. For more detailed guidelines, see: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities/who-isresponsible Please indicate that you have read these guidelines. Date: Site name:
Name of Community Champion:
2.1.3 Observation of Local restaurants and Community The purpose of this research is to discover
bridges that link the community and local businesses. The observation of local
restaurants along with interviews and
questionnaires allowed us to obtain their various opinions. Most local restaurants
knew about the recycling company through door to door promotion and the regional branches of the London based company.
Analyzing the services that competitors provide on their website is a way for Proper Oil to add to or improve their own service.
Observation of communities was separated into two distinct groups: gated and non-
gated. The Environment Agency requires
communities to have a secure and suitable location to set up the barrel therefore a link between local restaurants, schools and community is another attractive factor to
attract more champions. Another observation of the scheme was carried out in several communities where a container was placed in the kitchen to collect the used cooking
oil. After a month, the container set up scheme showed how the cooking habits of
different cultures affected the unblocking the community scheme.
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2.2 Secondary Research
2.2.1 News of Serious Clogged Sewer Caused by Used Cooking Oil in London A list of literatures was consulted to inform
In August 2013, fifteen tons of waste fat,
and analyzing the primary data that was
formed the largest ‘fatberg’ ever found in
and educate the method for understanding
collected. The secondary research offered
evidence that people should be aware of joining a scheme to recycle oil.
grease and sanitary products, which had the UK, was removed from a London sewer. The first awareness of the bus-sized lump of wrongly-flushed festering food waste came when residents in nearby flats complained that they couldn’t flush their toilets. “If they hadn’t discovered it in time, raw sewage
could have started spurting out of manholes
across the whole of Kingston,” Said Thames Water. This incident informs “Homes and businesses need to change their ways of dealing with used cooking oil.”
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2.2.2 Mayor of London Encourages Public Transportation in London to Use Biofuel In July, 2013, it was reported that the Mayor
of London wanted to see 20% of the 250 million liters of fuel used per year to run the city’s buses to be biodiesel, and preferably
from locally collected and processed used cooking oil. According to the news, London
produces roughly 44 million liters of cooking
oil per year. The Mayor’s goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 50,000 tons per year.
39
3.0 Research Findings and Analysis 3.1
Driver Tour
3.2
Champion Interview
3.3
Local Restaurant Interview
3.4
Impact of Setting Collected Container in the Community
3.5
School Interview
3.6
Research Conclusion
3.0 Research Findings and Analysis The first meeting with Proper Oil was in their
headquarters which is located in White City. Proper Oil has two different sized vans to
collect the barrels. They collect the barrels when the customers either telephones or makes a request via the website. We
observed that the barrels we saw at their in their company were oily and smelly. The
volume of the barrel means it needs a specific and large sized location in the community.
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3.1 Driver Tour We experienced two journeys with a Proper Oil driver.
The first was on 7th June, 2013; the first
stop was a first time setting up of a barrel for
unblocking the community. The champion was named Jo and she had more than seven years experience of being her community
champion. For the first time setting up of an
unblocking the community scheme, Proper Oil offers lids and A5 size flyers to the
residents and arranges the barrel in a safe area of the community.
The subsequent stops were at local
restaurants, most of which had adequate
space to store the barrels. Some had a
locked space to avoid stealing by illegal oil
companies. They knew Proper Oil via the website or word of mouth and exchanged the new vegetable oil with them.
The Storage Place (Restaurant)
There were three types of location where the restaurants set up their barrels.
44
Community
Indoor Normally, the indoor location is below ground level, thus it takes more time and effort for the
driver to collect the barrels. This environment sometimes gets smelly due to lack of air circulation.
46
Outdoor Less smelly, more dirt on the surface of the
Most of the restaurants had a suitable means
have a roof, therefore, the lid needed to be
could place it in a suitable location in their
barrels. Most of the outdoor spaces did not
of collecting their used waste oil, and they
properly locked on to the barrel.
restaurant.
General garage to store the waste This was the most convenient place for the
driver to collect the barrels, but sometimes, the barrel caused oiliness in the area.
During this journey, there was a unique case
in which a community cleaner collected the oil from the restaurants near the community.
They put the money into their pocket. This
shows Proper Oil’s reward system is not transparent.
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The relationship with local council Local council has a depot to catagorize the trash, And it has proper location for the used waste oil.
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How to make the information visible?
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The difficulty of Driver Route of daily Open time of restaurant Traffic Parking lot
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3.2 Champion Interview Jo Location: Her house - The place she puts the oil collection at home is next to the stove. - She has categorized the trash at home. - She has been a community champion for more than 7-8 years. - Good relationship with the neighbors. - Notifies the neighbors via e-mail, public board, flyers and word of mouth. - Gets information by e-mail from the council. - The oil becomes smelly if stored in the container in the kitchen for too long.
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3.2 Champion Interview Edward Location: His house - The place he stores the oil collection at home is in the drawer under the stove. - It’s his first time as a community champion. - Does standard garbage separation at home. - Knows about this scheme via his brother. - Some of his neighbors said they didn’t have a container to put used waste oil in. - Because his kitchen has a big window, it was not smelly inside.
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3.3 Local Restaurant Interview Location – Bermondsey There are always Fish and Chips shops in each area, therefore there are possible opportunities to involve more local restaurants in the unblocking the community scheme. - Black market - Competitor’s service - The attitude of the local restaurants to the social issue.
3.3 Local Restaurant Questionnaire
1.Name of your Restaurant
5.How did you get to know about your oil collection company?
Phone
Computer
Flyer
Friends
Local authority
6.Which kind of charity do you want to support? Cancer research
School Others
2.What do you do with your used cooking oil? 7.Do you support your local community (ie. primary schools/youth/community centre)?
YES 3.How often do you recycle used cooking oil?And how many 20litre barrels?
8.Please circle the companies below that you have heard of? Proper oil Services Ltd
Once a week
Once a month Once in six months
4.Who collects the used cooking oil /who contact oil collection company?
NO
Emil oil
Nicolas NC
Bio UK Fuels
Devon Oil Recycling MTB(Midlands)Ltd Safe Oil Systems
Arrowoils
Sheffield Ltd
Waste Vegetable Oils We Clean Your Greasetrap Adlerandallan
Wastecare
MonsterWaste
The Small Firm Alliance A.M. Fuels Safetykleen UK Ltd
Others_________________________
Thanks for your help. Chef
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Cleaner
Manager
Staff
Mdes Service Design Innovation Jasmine
Location – Bermondsey / Liverpool Street / East Street The outcome of the questionnaires show that most the local restaurants would like to support local schools, communities & charities. It also shows most of the restaurants have acknowledged the recycling of oil and that the managers have a responsibility of dealing with recycling their used oil.
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3.4 Impact of Setting Collected Container in the Community -Cooking Habit in Different Country. Chinese Dishes - No oil left.
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Fried Fish Cake - Oil left.
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Greek Fried Meat Ball - Oil left.
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Norway Fried Fish Ball - Oil left.
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3.4 Impact of Setting Collected Container in the Community Previous Community Location – Bermondsey (Southwark Park Rd.) 4 Taiwaneses
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Current Community Location – Bermondsey (Jamaica Rd.) 2 Taiwanese 1 Spanish 2 Greek
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Student Apartment Location – SPAL(University of the arts London) 8-10 Mixed Country Students
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Friend's Apartment Location – Victoria 4 Koreans
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Student Apartment Location – Hackney(University of the arts London) 4 Mixed Country Students
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Friend's Apartment Location – Canada Water 5 Thais
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Find Out The cooking habits in most of the families seldom involved fried food. The cooking habits of different cultures are related to oil collection. There are two types of community: Gated & Non-Gated.
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Gated & Non-Gated.
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3.5 School Interview The first time the scheme was set up.
How did they find out about the scheme? A representative from Proper Oil contacted the school. How did they inform parents about the scheme? They put a flyer in the parent’s contact book.
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The barrel in their school showed the inside of barrel can easily become oily and messy. The community near the school is residential.
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3.6 Research Conclusion The three different groups we observed have a close relationship with each other.
Therefore, the project will target parents who might be potential champions in their
community and will link local restaurants to the unblocking the community scheme. By understanding the difficulties parents might face, it is possible to provide solutions.
In order to achieve the project goal, it is
important to make the reward scheme visible
in local restaurants, the community and schools.
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4.0 Design Process 4.1
Concept Generation
4.2
Concept Development
4.3
User Testing and Feedback
4.4
Design Outcome-Rewards System
4.1 Concept Generation After lengthy research, it was found that
to help Proper Oil involve more community
important route to lead the pre-service. To
more profit and benefits for the company.
linking the three targets together was the generate the idea of creating a sustainable
service, the book Cradle to Cradle was the inspiration for the prototyping in this project.
There is a concept in this book which influenced this project: Consider the Cherry Tree. (pp. 72-73)
Consider the cherry tree: thousands of blossoms create fruit for birds, humans, and other animals, in order that one pit
might eventually fall onto the ground, take root, and grow. Who would look at the
ground littered with cherry blossoms and
complain, “How inefficient and wasteful!” The tree makes copious blossoms and
fruit without depleting its environment. Once they fall on the ground, their
materials decompose and break down into nutrients that nourish microorganisms,
insects, plants, animals, and soil.
champions in the scheme, which would bring However, the principle of the final outcome in this research was not only about the welfare or interest of Proper Oil, but also being
environmentally friendly and raising social awareness of recycling oil at home. Whereas, the design of prototypes considers reusing
and reducing waste, the material we will
use for the prototypes is recycled paper and the rewards system is based on the original design of the website.
The rewards system is focused on three targets- local restaurant, local community
and local school. By cycling through these
three gears, this project can achieve bigger breakthroughs faster by using insights and
similar needs to inspire high-value conceptual solutions and by extracting strategic intent
from the concepts to recast new business models.
Although the tree actually makes more
Gear one- Local Restaurant: how to get
success in an ecosystem, this abundance
and how to reward current cooperating
of its “product” than it needs for its own
has evolved, to serve rich and varied
more restaurants to choose Proper Oil restaurants.
purposes. In fact, the tree’s fecundity
Gear two- Local Community: where can it
Initially, the main purpose of this project was
to collect the used cooking oil at home and
nourishes just about everything around it.
get the containers for collecting the oil? How
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make it less oily and smelly. How to maintain
a clean environment using the barrel in the community.
Gear three- Local School: how to
encourage and teach pupils to ask their parents to collect used cooking oil at home.
How to collect the used cooking oil at home
and make it less oily and smelly and how to transfer the container from home to school. How to maintain a clean environment using the barrel in the school.
The connection between all of the above is how does the rewards system work to attract them to become involved in this scheme?
Building a rewards system can open up new
opportunities, set more dramatic growth strategies and evolve the business model to better seize market opportunities.
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4.2 Concept Development
After the concept generation, this project used service design tools to discover the clear and important problems that the three targets might face. Additionally, the feedback of the prototypes leads us to the full concept of the rewards system.
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4.2 Concept Development
4.2.1 Storyboard (Champion)
The storyboard helped us realize the
manifestation of every touchpoint and
relationship between the company and the three target users.
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4.2 Concept Development 4.2.1 Storyboard (Local Restaurant)
£->Depends on quality & quantity Once a week / Once a month Once two weeks
£ 20 EMIL OIL Nicolas NC ENKA OIL
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?
Bar
Once a week Once a month
Visible
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4.2 Concept Development
4.2.1 Storyboard (Driver)
List of collection
Bar
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Open Time of Restaurant?
Bar
GPS
ÂŁ Full
Empty
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4.2 Concept Development
4.2.1 Storyboard (School Teacher)
Council Proper oil
OR
One month later
One to two
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Recycle oil
Parents Contact Book
Everyday
Parents Contact Book
months later
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4.2 Concept Development
4.2.2 Persona
The persona is based on a fictional character
whose profile gathers together the features of an existing social group. It presents social characteristics and their needs,
desires, habits and cultural backgrounds. In
this report, our two personas are potential community champions.
The questions that our target might face. How do the champion notice the scheme? How do the champion communicate with their neighbors? How do the scheme attract the champion? How to encourage people to collect the used oil at home? Parents might need to help children to collect the oil and complete the worksheet. Parent might want to know how to collect the oil and how to bring it to the school. Why do parent want to collect the oil? Where is the adequate way for parent to store the oil at home.
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Jennifer Owens 45 years old.
Has three children Jane-19 years John-16years Glan-15years Freelancer
Love cooking
She is passionate about recycling and have over the past 8 years introduced to our
housing block mixed household recycling, food waste recycling.
Olivia James 37 years old.
Has two children Ruby- 6 years John- 8 years Officer
Cooks three or four times a week
She is not familiar with recycling trash. Her husband works in the bank.
They take the children to the primary school depends on their time.
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4.2 Concept Development
4.2.3 Stakeholder
According to Business Dictionary, 2007: “Persons, groups or organizations ….have
a direct or indirect stake in an organization because it can affect or be affected by
the organization’s actions, objectives and policies.” By a series of research, it can be
mapped out that there are three targets which all connect to the environment issue.
In this project, Proper Oil has credentials
from the Environment Agency. Where as they have environmental credential to get people's
trust. Besides, this stakeholder shows the
important partnership between three targets in this project.
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4.2 Concept Development 4.2.4 Competitor Matrix
Today there is not just one oil recycling company and Proper Oil has many
competitors. Analyzing similar types of
companies helps the business better understand its own strengths and
weaknesses. Also, competitive offers can provide new strategies for the company such
as using new media or finding new fields to approach. See Page 92-93
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Competitor Matrix
92
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4.2 Concept Development
4.2.5 Prototype
As Tom Kelley’s The Art of Innovation says: “A good prototype don’t just communicate-they persuade.” (p.112) In addition, prototyping can also remind you that sometimes the most obvious, simplest solution is the best.
The purpose of prototype is to attract and
arouse people’s awareness of Proper Oil’s
recycling scheme. We want to obtain three target groups’ reaction to the rewards system. The inspiration for this prototype includes the LoveFoodHateWaste workshop
which provides many tips and methods to
reduce food waste at home. At the end of this workshop, they offered educational material
such as a spaghetti ruler or zipper to remind
and help people store food properly at home. In context of the workshop, one of the prototypes will be an oil-free box that helps people carry their container to the barrel safely and conveniently.
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The concept of this film and the paper wrapping for the container is to demonstrate a method of reuse to teach people how to reduce the oily environment at home.
Film about avoiding oily environment in the home.
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Paper wrapping of container
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4.2 Concept Development
4.2.6 Co-Design
How to communicate with pupils is an
According to the concept of co-design, we
fact that it relates with building a rewarding
concept of a Learning Sheet for pupils is to
important issue when prototyping. Due to the system which is the final outcome.
Therefore, we use the painting activity in the primary school. This activity shows the pupils
develop the concept of a learning sheet. The remind parents to collect the oil at home or encourage them to consume in green-point restaurants. (See Page. 98-101)
are interested in painting and what kind of
rewards they might be interested in when they are involved in this type of scheme.
Please draw the image of used oil.
Please draw the image if you recycle the oil.
2013 Mdes Service Design Innovation Jasmine Yuan
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Learning sheet for pupil (Front)
98
99
Learning sheet for pupil (Inside)
The Proper Oil might provide the sunflower seed which most of oil in UK were made from the sunflower seed.
100
101
102
Storyboard ( GreenPoint Passport )
103
4.2 Concept Development
Green-point restaurants sticker
The concept of a sticker for the restaurant
is to encourage more restaurants involving
in this scheme. And it also reminds the restaurants to cooperate with Proper Oil. (See Page. 103-105)
104
105
106
4.2 Concept Development
Oil-Free Box According to
Boxed and Labelled: New Approaches to Packaging Design,
“Folding is a mechanism crucial to some
of the cleverest hybrid packing-products.� Thus, the Oil-Free Box is designed based on the concept of reuse and saving energy. According to the observation, the reasons
that the barrel easily becomes oil is people don't like to hold the oily containers and put
into the oily barrel. Therefore, the concept of oil-free box is to reducetthe oily environment of barrel and transferred process from house to the location of the barrel. (See Page. 107)
ec
yc
le
il
The process to dispose your used oil at home Everyday
Community
School
Reuse
Or
This box helps you to reduce the oily when you transfer your collection container to the barrel.
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108
Storyboard ( Oil-Free Box )
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4.3 User Testing and Feedback In the co-design part, the students
conscience of used oil and the rewards they
might want to get if they collected the used cooking oil. It is important for deciding what
kind of rewards that Proper Oil will supply. Moreover, the primary school teacher also
sdvised that it would be a good idea to change the layout to make it more appealing to the kids. The insights from the interview
and co-design also showed that the children
would be facsinated even on being given/ awarded with the smallest gifts such as stickers or pins. Besides, the year of pupils who might be interested in this learning sheet
is around year 3 to 6. The pupils within year
3 to 6, they are more willing to get involved in this activity.
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4.4 Design Outcome-Rewards System
Rewards System
The outcome of this report is the building up of a rewards system on Proper Oil’s website. It is important to reward householders, students and local restaurants for doing the
right thing with their waste oil. Therefore,
we are encouraging Proper Oil to make the rewards system clear and transparent on their website. We believe that reward and
recognition can motivate people to take action.
Rewards could include financial rewards,
e.g. vouchers, donations to charities, cash or
discounts on goods and services. Recognition could, for instance, include student feedback about how much their parents have recycled
or a competition at school in the different years.
Additionally, a prize competition between different schools, communities or local
restaurants could be a stimulus to encourage more people to become involved in this
scheme. However, setting up the prize will
be based on people’s interests and the company’s profits.
This research can only provide the attractive possibility of a prize in the rewards system.
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112
113
Every 6 months
Every six months, Proper Oil will calculate how much oil they’ve collected from local business, and they will give them the rewarding certification. In the same time, Proper oil will donate the money to the Charity they support.
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Every 12 months
Every year, Proper Oil will calculate how much oil they’ve collected from school, and they will give them the rewarding certification. Meanwhile, Proper oil will provide the new vegetable oil to the winner school.
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Every 3 months
Every three months, it has the competition between classes of different years. The winner of different years can get a medal to present they are the most environmental friendly class in school.
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Rewards System To make the rewards system more visible, it
is better to show the rewards information on
the website to allow people easily involved in this scheme.
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118
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5.0 Project Conclusions
5.0 Project Conclusions Through various researches, we obtained many insights and found that a rewards
system is not the only way of attracting more people to become involved in this
scheme. However, the new rewards service can provide people with an experience they
have never had before and it is important to
make it real and tangible. It is inevitable to
use the method of co-design knowing what kind of rewards will attract people to involve in this scheme. There are different attractive
rewards for each group. On the other side, when people experience a working prototype they may react to the performance rather than the abstract concept. The new service is not only a new business module
to reach more potential champions but also
sustain and attract more local restaurants to cooperate with Proper Oil. Connecting to the
local school is the great way to reach more potential champions in the community. This
project is building up the great network with three targets. Ultimately, the new service is
accompanied by a powerful social impact,
such as reducing carbon footprint, cutting
unnecessary local authority resources and being environment friendly. These social impacts display corporate responsibility but
also build up a sustainable and innovative business.
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The End
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