1.1 Contact Information
Jenna Bower, MFA Candidate Design for Sustainability Yu-Chu Chen, MA Candidate Industrial Design Savannah College of Art and Design Team PurePod
1.2 Submitting Category Student
2.1 Product title and description + Image The Problem In 2016, over 500,000 people were considered homeless in the US according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness: 47,725 were veterans; 110,000 were LGBTQ youth, and 50% were over the age of 50. As climate change continues to increase volatility of weather patterns and extreme storms, PurePodx would be an invaluable tool to provide peace of mind and adequate sanitation to displaced population and climate refugees. As solar battery technological advances, PurePod could become a self-sustaining entity in terms of water and energy usage. Our Mission PurePod’s mission is to ensure basic human rights of hygiene and sanitation to those experiencing homelessness by providing on-demand, reliable and convenient access to bathroom and shower services that are ecologically responsible. PurePod’s mission is reflected in it’s name: a space where people can feel safe and protected and leave feeling clean, fresh and anew. Designed for Durability + Disassembly PurePod is designed to be durable, but also designed to be disassembled at end of life for recycling and composting. The water system is designed for quick reuse of greywater through a filtration process and is heated through the solar water heating system. The use of the lithium ion battery is reserved for powering the lighting fixture and water pump.
2.3 Illustration of the product's system + 3.1 Reutilization Cycle End of Life
End of Life
At end of life, naturally treated bamboo and paper water filter can be composted, and hemp bioplastics can either be composted or recycled depending on resins used in creation process. Compost from composting toilet handled through partnership with urban gardens.
Acrylic, copper, steel and rubber are sent back to manufacturer for recycling and repurposing. Lithium ion battery and solar water heater are sent back in a take-back program for proper recycling and reuse.
Use
Use
Technical materials chosen for durability, but also for disassembly in case of wear and tear, or an accident on the road. Designed to be used with an electric car, however, battery can be used to power light fixture and water pump. Solar water heating tubes can be maintenanced individually.
Naturally treated bamboo can last 50 years. Hemp bioplastics are stronger than steel + more resilient to damage. Water is cycled through a closed loop cleaning and reuse process, using the Water is Life paper water filter to filter out disease.
Biological Cycle
Distribution
Hemp is grown and bioplastics are manufactured in the US. Bamboo is sourced from a small scale, natural bamboo farm in Fort Valley, Georgia.
Technical Cycle
Manufacturing
Manufacturing
Green Cast is cut from 100% recycled acrylic sheets for windows. Copper pipes and steel trailer frame are molded from recycled content.
Cellulose from hemp is extracted to create bioplastics using a natural bio-resin. Bamboo is treated with natural, non-toxic preservation methods and cut to size specifications for partitions and shelving.
Material Extraction
Material Extraction
Acrylic, copper and steel are gathered from recycled materials. Russian dandelions are grown and harvested for rubber extraction.
Bamboo and hemp are grown and harvested through sound forestry management practices and companies that are FSC®-Certified.
Homogeneous Materi-
Water
Hemp Bioplastic
Distribution
Recycled materials sourced from plants in the US to cut down on CO2 emissions from transportation.
Homogeneous Materi-
Bamboo
‘Water is Life’ Paper Filter
Green Cast 100% Rec. Acrylic
Copper Pipes
products
Dandelion Rubber
Steel Trailer
Rechargeable Solar Water Lithium Ion Battery Heater
3.2 Business Model
4.1 Materials Overview
Social Enterprise This hygiene pod would function within a social enterprise with two key components: economic (PurePod) and social (PurePodx).
Biological:
PurePod would be the main revenue stream; it could be deployed at festivals, beaches, color runs, mud runs, etc. as a paid service to provide convenient access to bathrooms and shower to event goers. PurePodx would be focused on providing free access to sanitation for homeless communities and could be deployed in areas in need of disaster relief. Partnerships PurePod also partners with community urban gardens for reuse of waste from the composting toilet, and also provides access to feminine hygiene products for women in partnership with LENA Cup, Voted #1 Best Starter Menstrual Cup and made in the USA.
4.2 Material Reutilization PurePod uses approximately 86% recycled or rapidly renewable materials and 100% recyclable/compostable/biodegradable materials, giving it a material reutilization score of 95%.
Reutilization Score (86 x 1) + (100 x 2) 3
= 95%
Bamboo is a rapidly renewing resource that can be treated with natural preservatives and last for 50 years, and creates a tropical, relaxing and even luxurious feeling inside the pod. Hemp is a rapidly renewing resource that can be used to create hemp bioplastic that has been shown to be stronger than steel. The Water is Life Drinkable Book paper is used to filter out diseases like ecoli to create safe, drinkable water. Although the water in our system isn’t used for drinking in this iteration of the product, a future design could incorporate rainwater collection and filtration for drinking water. However, it still suits our purpose now to create a safe and hygienic space to shower.
Technical: Green Cast Acrylic is created from 100% recycled acrylic, and is a replacement for glass windows that is translucent to let in enough light but not allow outsiders to invade the privacy of those inside the pod. Resistance to impacts 8-10 times higher than glass. Copper is a recyclable material that is safe to use for piping water and not as corrosive as aluminum, which we also considered. Dandelions are rapidly renewing and being used to harvest rubber for the creation of tires, in order to offset the volatility of pricing that comes from the car industry’s historic reliance on the rubber tree. Steel is a very recyclable material we are using for the trailer in order to transport the pod.
4.3 Material Health
4.4 Impact Statement
Biological:
Technical:
Bamboo has been cited as a sustainable green buildings material, but there are many aspects of bamboo farming that wreak havoc on the environment and the effects of monoculture farming on biodiversity cannot be ignored.
100% R-MMA (Recycled Methylmethacrylate Monomer) produced in the Madreperla plant in Cinisello Balsamo from recycled PMMA (Polymethylmethacrylate).
Our solution is to source bamboo from a small scale, natural bamboo farm in Fort Valley, Georgia which is less than 200 miles from Savannah.
Copper - MSDS: Health: 2; Fire: 1.
Bamboo - Non-toxic and compostable
Hemp Bioplastic - Non-toxic and compostable Not only does hemp grow in a variety of climates and soil types, it also grows very tightly spaced (decreasing land use) and has a fast growing rate (which leads to high yields). Hemp is naturally resistant to most pests which eliminates the need for most pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and thriving on less water than most crops. Water is Life ‘Drinkable Book’ paper - Non-toxic and compostable Each sheet of this filter paper is coated with an antimicrobial formula that disinfects water, making it safe for our users in the pod. This technology is still being developed. Source: https://goo.gl/RTJEVs
Green Cast Acrylic -
Source: https://goo.gl/zOA0gA Potential Acute Health Effects: Very hazardous in case of ingestion. Hazardous in case of eye contact (irritant), of inhalation. Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant). Potential Chronic Health Effects: The substance is toxic to lungs, mucous membranes. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage. Source: https://goo.gl/VuzlsW Dandelion Rubber “Continental Tire has produced and tested the first tires where tread is made 100 percent out of dandelion natural rubber as a polymer. Plans are in place to begin manufacturing consumer road tires from dandelion-derived rubber in five to 10 years.” Source: https://goo.gl/enhjCw Steel - Health Hazard 2, Flammability 0, Reactivity 0. Steel products, under normal conditions, do not present an inhalation, ingestion or skin hazard. However, operations such as welding, grinding, sawing, and burning, which may cause airborne particulates or fume formation, may present a health hazard. Source: https://goo.gl/sIDxRf
When designing products, we need to take responsibility for end of life through proper planning at the beginning of life. There’s no such thing as a sustainable material if it ends up in a landfill. Therefore, we must design products to be durable and last as long as possible to avoid unnecessary raw materials extraction, and to design for disassembly so that products can be
taken apart and recycled or composted after their useful life. Even though our product did not incorporate C2C certified materials, we know that the benefits of using them are profound. Having a database of certified materials to pull from takes a lot of stress off of designers to have to do that research on their own. It makes doing the right thing more accessible.