Transcending the Disposable Everyday

TRANSCENDING THE DISPOSABLE EVERYDAY A Design Strategy for Resource Recovery in San Francisco, CA by indhira rojas

TRANSCENDING THE DISPOSABLE EVERYDAY Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirement for the degree of Master of Fine Arts, this thesis is approved and is acceptable in quality and form.

Brenda Laurel, PhD Department Chair

Aura Oslapas Thesis Advisor

Maria McVarish Thesis Committee

Susan Kinsella Thesis Committee

A Design Strategy for Resource Recovery in San Francisco, CA by indhira rojas

RIGHT Recology Transfer Station Pier 96 San Francisco, CA

Transcending the Disposable Everyday

by Indhira Rojas Graduate Program in Design California College of the Arts 1111 Eighth Street San Francisco, CA 94107 Copyright Š Indhira Rojas, 2011.

All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter without written permission from the author, except in the context of reviews.

Set in Knockout and Whitney, designed by Hoefler & Frere-Jones.

Book Design by Indhira Rojas All photographs by author, unless otherwise noted.

Heartfelt thanks to: Jason Kerr, without you this would have been impossible.

Special thanks to teachers, colleagues and friends: Phil Balagtas Ann Benoit Konina Biswas Matthew Canton Mike Caroselli Lynn-kai Chao Sarah Cline Ian Cooley Charlotte Cooper Debolina Dutta David Dymesich Ammo Eisu Gustavo Fricke Emily Gibson

Andreanna Grishowsky Timonie Hood Catherine Isaacs Rebecca Jewell Wendy Ju Barry Katz Ellen Keith Susan Kinsella Nicole Knox Kate Koeppel Brenda Laurel Corey Lee Jason Linder Lara Manzanares

Maria McVarish Jeremy Mende Heidi Meredith Jason Mickelson Patty Moore Kristin Neidlinger Matt Nikitas Aura Oslapas Parker Pruett Saif Romani Rob Shaw Rachel Silverberg Kristian Simsarian Kate VandenBerghe

Luis Velez Renee Walker Jana Willinger Caroline Wiryadinata Paul Wood Rosanna Yau Danielle Zimmerman

... and everyone who contributed in one way or another, I’m forever grateful.

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Learning from San Francisco METHODOLOGY & FRAMEWORKS Design Research and Strategy Approach ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES Increasing Diversion Rates in San Francisco METRICS Facts and Statistics

MACRO PERSPECTIVE

MICRO PERSPECTIVE

DESIGN STRATEGY

Infrastructure of Materials Recovery

The Experience of Sorting

IndexR: Tracking Material Recovery

Basic Key Terms and Stakeholders

1/5 of Waste from One Weekend

Key Insights & Questions

A Day in the Life

Where Does It Go?

Thoughts on the Economics of Materials Recovery

The Alternative Recycling Program

Sorting out Dilemmas

CONCLUSION Beyond Waste APPENDIX Recycling Practices for Dominican Republic Case Studies and References San Francisco Ordinances and Policy Documents

IndexR: Understanding the Service and its Potential Impact

9

0

DISPOSABLE adjective (of an article) intended to be used once and then thrown away (of a person or idea) able to be dispensed with; easily dismissed noun an article designed to be thrown away after use

New Oxford American Dictionary

MENTALITÉ mentality the idea that members of any social group share certain “habitual or characteristic mental attitude[s] that determine how [they] will interpret and respond to situations.” ...no longer a conscious choice, more a preconscious, semiautomatic, unreflective, self-evident, seemingly ‘natural’ way to respond to things.

Andrew Szasz

0 ZERO WASTE BY 2020

San Francisco has committed its citizens to reach a collective goal of zero waste by 2020.

How might we define norms, tools and policies to facilitate behavioral change from the individual to the collective?

INTRODUCTION LEARNING FROM SAN FRANCISCO

Take a moment and consider: what is waste? What counts as waste depends on who is counting.1 Something may have no value to you, yet be invaluable to someone else. When over ninety percent of the natural resources used to create products become waste within only three months,2 the question of what is waste becomes critically important.

1

The first thing we must know is that we create waste by sorting. We sort

Strasser, Susan. Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash.

(New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2000).

by separating what has value from what does not, what is not valuable becomes

2

whether in manufacturing processes—by recycling—or other means.

Chapman, Jonathan. Emotionally Durable Design: Objects, Experiences and Empathy. (London: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 2005), 8.

waste. It is through sorting that we also identify materials others can reuse,

For these reasons, sorting discards has more to do with the greatest challenges facing our society than we may care to admit. It relates to social and environmental justice, economic life, political activism, inequality and foreign policy, to name a few. The way we sort waste influences decisions of land use, produces pollution and creates gentrification. The complexities of our everyday lives do not allow us to see these relationships; nonetheless they exist.

As a designer who grew up in the Dominican Republic, where trash is piled up on every street corner, I saw these relationships very clearly. The way municipalities deal with sorting waste greatly impacts the quality of life in a community. In the Dominican Republic, for example, practices of sorting discards for recycling are not established. Anything you throw away has little chance of escaping the landfill. The City Council does a poor job of waste management and everywhere you look there is some type of discard: a water bottle, a snack bag, a styrofoam cup or plastic bags. The conditions of waste are overwhelming. What’s worse is that citizens and government officials lack methodologies and infrastructure to address the issue.

Inspired by the short-comings in my own country, I was motivated to investigate the sorting of discards on a massive scale. What are the different sorting methods? How does sorting influence waste management? What are waste management best practices?

Transcending the Disposable Everyday pursues these questions while focusing on the city of San Francisco. San Francisco County takes a progressive stance on sustainable practices, making it an ideal place to learn from. Its domestic and commercial waste policies—currently 72 percent diversion rate from landfill, with goals to reach zero-waste by 2020—promise a working model for other municipalities in the United States and around the world.

This investigation represents nine months of design research in the City of San Francisco, visiting recycling centers, speaking to waste management experts and interviewing San Francisco citizens. In this book you will find a journey from what happens when we throw something away, to prototypes challenging the current status quo. As more communities embrace recycling practices and the philosophy of zero waste, it’s important to understand what is enabling a high diversion rate in San Francisco and identify potential for even more impact.

To this end, Transcending the Disposable Everyday explores the future of resource recovery in San Francisco as we transition into a zero waste culture.

Note The scope of this investigation is limited to materials used for the packaging of food, hygiene, health and beauty products.

These serve as the best sample of products made for extreme short-term use. Material resources used for office products are also considered. Many of these commonly used items have a stable recovery process for recycling. Not included in this study are electronic waste, items for donation like furniture, clothes and shoes, and refuse used for composting—even though it is mentioned in various sections.

LEFT Urbanization Area Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Photo: Gilberto Rojas

Communication tools, interaction experiences and provocations define a design strategy intended to shift, support and sustain new behaviors. By empowering the individual to influence the collective, this project looks to create alternative ways to reach the city’s goal of zero waste by 2020 and provides frameworks others can learn from.

Why this project?

The transdisciplinary designer can be an important asset for the field of social innovation. The methodologies of design research and human-centered design can provide frameworks and guidance to public service institutions, non-profits, policy makers and community organizations as they navigate complex challenges. The transdisciplinary designer can help identify barriers of progress and suggest ways to overcome them. The development of communities, cities and countries is dependent on the ability to envision a different reality—this is an act of design. Transcending the Disposable Everyday serves as a case study in which a designer, as a critical outsider, immerses herself in a new realm. The outcome represents the contribution designers, and consequently design, can make to address our pressing social problems.

Guibia Beach Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Photo: Gilda Hernández

“We need to develop new social practices and customs related to recycling, reducing our carbon footprint and conserving energy.

Once we begin to talk about social rituals to accommodate new environmental practices, then we have to create social institutions that reinforce those rituals.

For example, in terms of recycling, we need large systems, not just a place to put a tin can. I’m talking about big systems that ensure that old products really become converted into new ones. Our aim should be to reduce every kind of waste that we can.”

Victor Margolin for Eye Magazine, Power Vacuum Part I

Social practices & customs

Social rituals to accommodate new environmental practices

Social institutions that reinforce those rituals

Large systems

METHODOLOGY & FRAMEWORKS 1

The system is the sum total of everything affected by an activity. A systems perspective requires an appreciation (at minimum) and an understanding (at best) of how various systems interact with each other. These include environmental, financial, and social systems.

The research methodology used in my investigation is informed by two main frameworks which are used as lenses to provide a systems perspective1 to the design strategy. The first framework, which I’m calling supporting structures, facilitates social transformation within a macro perspective.

It is determined by three core aspects:

Shedroff, Nathan, Design Is the Problem: The Future of Design Must be Sustainable. (New York: Rosenfeld Media, 2009), 4.

Supporting Structures

LEFT National Recycling Corporation 1312 Kirkham Street Oakland, CA

NORMS

TOOLS

POLICY

Defines Behaviors

Enable Behaviors

Create & Motivate Institutional Transformation

The influence framework focuses on a human-centered design methodology which places the individual at the center. It builds on the principle that change happens first at the individual level and then at the collective level. Empowering the individual influences their personal spaces, moving outwards from the self to their home into the larger community. The community can be defined as the a work environment or an entire neighborhood.

Influence Individual

Household

Community

2

Mckenzie-Mohr, Doug, and William Smith. Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing (Education for Sustainability Series). 1 ed. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers, 1999.

These frameworks build upon each other; combined, they suggest a model for macro and micro social transformation. Social norms, tools and policies influence individual behaviors, which in turn validate the supporting structures and expand their possible impact. Moreover, these models foster behavioral change carried out at the community level, involving direct contact with people.

These methods have proven to be effective as they reflect our human needs for communal space and personal exchange.2

RIGHT Recology Transfer Station 501 Tunnel Avenue San Francisco, CA

TOOLS

NORMS

TOOLS

POLICY

NORMS

INDIVIDUAL: ME

POLICY

HOUSEHOLD: MY HOME

TOOLS

NORMS

POLICY

COMMUNITY: MY COMMUNITY

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES: INCREASING DIVERSION RATES IN SAN FRANCISCO

Environmental policies enable and support San Francisco’s diversion initiatives. Without these legal actions social transformation is not possible. They are the foundation to an action plan seeking to preserve the city, the environment, and the health of citizens. An overview of the city’s ordinances and legislations highlight the importance of legal measures and policy to motivating change.

1

California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), “Local Goverment Central Enforcement” calrecycle.ca.gov/LGCentral/ Enforcement/

2

SFEnvironment, Ordinance 100-09 Mandatory Recycling and Composting sfenvironment.org/downloads/ library/sf_mandatory_recycling_composting_ordinance.pdf

3

“63 percent diversion and rising,” BioCycle February 2005, Vol. 46, No. 2, p. 22 jgpress.com/archives/_ free/000380.html

4

SFEnvironment, “San Francisco’s Climate Change Action Plan,” sfenvironment.com/downloads/ library/climateactionplan.pdf 5

Studies correlating greehouse gas emmisions with municipal solid waste: Weitz KA, Thorneloe SA, Nishtala SR, Yarkosky S, Zannes M. The impact of municipal solid waste management on greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 2002 Sep;52(9):1000-11.

Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. September 2009

In 1989 California passed a law called “The Integrated Waste Management Act (AB 939)” which mandated that all jurisdictions in California implement a waste management program aimed at creating 25 percent diversion rate by 1995 and 50 percent diversion rate by 2000.1 The objective was to conserve water, energy, and other natural resources, and to protect the environment. Every city and county that failed to do so could face a fine of up to $10,000 a day for not meeting this goal.2 In 2005, California had diverted 52 percent of its waste stream with San Francisco County leading the way with a 63% diversion rate.3 These achievements were also motivated by San Francisco’s Climate Change Action Plan 4 made public in 2004. In it, Mayor Gavin Newsom stated: “Climate change presents serious threats to the quality of life in San Francisco.

The impacts of rising sea levels could be potentially devastating. Low lying areas such as San Francisco International Airport, Treasure Island, Mission Bay, SBC and Candlestick Parks, roads, railroad tracks, sewage treatment plants, and our marina and harbor facilities could be threatened. We must act now to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions or we will quickly reach a point at which global warming cannot be reversed.”

The Climate Action Plan committed San Francisco to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2012 and identified actions required to achieve these low emissions. As a result, the diversion of municipal solid waste became an actionable strategy for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.5 After 2004, San Francisco set goals of 75 percent diversion rate by 2010 and a zero-waste goal by 2020.6

By 2009 San Francisco had almost reached its 2010 goal with a current diversion rate of 72 percent. To move the plan forward, in October of the same year “The Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance” was passed.

Citizens were now required by law to separate their discards into recyclables, compostables and trash, as well as pay for adequate refuse services. This new ordinance was being promoted as “the most comprehensive mandatory composting and recycling law in the country.” 7 Nonetheless, citizens faced many challenges as they became participants in the waste management system; “what goes where” remains one of the most common complaints.8 Despite this confusion, if citizens do not comply with recycling and composting practices imposed by the law, “the City may consider liens, fines, and other fees up to $1,000.” 9 Protecting the environment is not the sole reason for these policies.

Recycling has the dual benefits of not only reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also reducing the need for landfills.10 Finding land space for dumping has been a consistent issue in regards to waste policies. In the city of San Francisco this is specially true because land space has always been a source of tension due its scarcity—the transformation of its shoreline serves as evidence.

In March 27, 2009 John Upton wrote an article for the San Francisco Examiner reporting: “San Francisco has sent about 12 million tons of garbage to the privately owned Altamont Landfill since 1988, when it entered into a contract with the owner to deposit up to 15 million tons. According to city documents, San Francisco could run out of landfill space as early as 2014.”11 If the city lost its landfill, disposing of waste would become more expensive. A space farther away would be needed, increasing transportation costs—a burden for the city and its citizens. Zero-waste practices needed to be assumed or the city’s cost for managing waste will likely increase. Extending the life of the current landfill is a high priority, forcing the city to find ways to divert as much as possible.

6

SFEnvironment, “Our program: Zero Waste,” sfenvironment.org/ our_programs/program_info.

7 html?ssi=3 John Coté, “S.F. OKs toughest recycling law in U.S.,” sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/ c/a/2009/06/10/MN09183NV8.

DTL

8

Carolyn Tyler, “SF residents face new, strict recycling rules,” ABC 7News KGO-TV San Francisco, CA abclocal.go.com/kgo/ story?section=news/ local/san_ francisco&id=7076772 9

SFEnvironment, “FAQs about the Mandatory Recycling & Composting Ordinance,” sfenvironment.org/ our_programs/interests. html?ssi=3&ti=&ii=236#what_the_ ordinance_does

10

SFEnvironment, “San Francisco’s Climate Change Action Plan,” sfenvironment.com/downloads/ library/climateactionplan.pdf

Note To view copies of the law documents supporting San Francisco’s environmental policies go to Appendix A. RIGHT Altamont Landfill 10840 Altamont Pass Road Livermore, CA

METRICS: FACTS & STATISTICS West

Great Lakes

(inc. Alaska & Hawaii )

2%

Regional Municipal Solid Waste Breakdown 2004 Landfill Recycling Waste-to-Energy

4%

New England

31% 65%

38%

35% 29% 36%

60%

18% 1%

49%

14% 33%

86%

Mid-Atlantic

South 1% 22%

9%

Midwest

22%

77% 69%

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2006) Annual

Rocky Mountain

To place into perspective the level of impact the City of San Francisco is achieving, this chapter compares municipal solid waste and waste characterization studies of the city with the entire United States with the intention of identifying trends and revealing insights.

1

EPA Municipal Solid Waste Report for 2008.

Municipal solid waste reports made public annually by the EPA reflect the different trends in waste management around the country. The Regional Municipal Solid Waste Breakdown from 2004 showcases landfill, recycling and waste-to-energy rates per region, highlighting the areas with greater barriers.

Diagrams of the number of landfills in the United States in 1988-2007 and the Municipal Solid Waste Generation rates from 1960-2007 illustrates how the amount of landfill space has decreased significantly, yet waste generation is increasing. A small decline can be observed in the year 2008 as the economy entered a recession.

Number of Landfills in the United States 1988 - 2007

7,924

5,386

EPA 2007

3,197 2,216 1,754

1,767

no data

1988

2007

Municipal Solid Waste Generation Rates 1960 - 2008

239.1

254.6

249. 6

205.2

EPA 2008 On average individuals recycled and composted 1.5 of 4.5 pounds waste generated per person per day.

151.6 121.1 4.50 88.1 3.25

Total Municipal Solid Waste generation

2.68

Per capita generation (lbs/person/day)

1960

4.65

4.63

4.50

3.66

2008

20.7 M

Metals 34.8%

GENERATION ( ) vs RECOVERY ( ) IN UNITED STATES Measurement in Million Tons

10.3 M

Statistics for the generation 7.2 M

versus recovery rate per type of materials in EPA Facts and Figures

83 M

0

report from 2007 reveals the following insights: Popularity in the use of

Paper

plastics has increased,

54.5%

45 M

even though its recovery is currently very minimal.

30 M

30.7 M

The use and recovery of paper has increased, reflecting some stability in

0

the recycled paper market.

Metals and glass generation has remained fairly equal,

Plastics 6.8%

even though they represent materials that can be continously recycled with

0.39 M

2.1 M

0

Glass 23.5%

13.6 M

6.7 M 3.2 M

0 1960

2007

very little loss of quality.

UNITED STATES vs SAN FRANCISCO WASTE GENERATION & CHARACTERIZATION

Recovery

UNITED STATES 250 million tons

Landfill

33.2%

54.2% 12.6% Waste-to-Energy

EPA Municipal Solid Waste report states in 2008 Americans generated about 250 million tons of trash and recycled, and composted 83 million

31% paper 12.7% food scraps

13.2% yard trimmings 8.4% metals

12% plastics 7.9% rubber, leather & textiles

4.9% glass

6.6% wood

other

Recovery

72%

organics

12.2%

4.2% metals 3.3%

construction

glass

paper

rubber, leather & textiles

Department of the Environment reported San Francisco generated 2.1 million tons of waste material in 2007. Of this, only 0.61 million tons went to landfill.

SAN FRANCISCO’S DISCARDS ARE ONLY

OF TOTAL IN THE UNITED STATES This means, even though San Francisco is a very effective

24.3%

9.5%

While, the San Francisco’s

0.8%

28%

33%

10.5% plastics

to a 33.2 percent recycling rate.

3.3%

Landfill

SAN FRANCISCO 2.1 million tons

tons of this material, equivalent

2.2% hazardous

at reaching high recyling rates, its impact is a very small fraction when compared to the entire country. This makes San Francisco an important case study for the future of zero waste.

“And Man created the plastic bag and the tin and aluminum can and the cellophane wrapper and the paper plate, and this was good because Man could then take his automobile and buy all his food in one place and He could save that which was good to eat in the refrigerator and throw away that which had no further use. And soon the earth was covered with plastic bags and aluminum cans and paper plates and disposable bottles and there was nowhere to sit down or walk, and Man shook his head and cried: ‘Look at this Godawful mess.’ ”

Art Buchwald 1970

MACRO PERSPECTIVE: INFRASTRUCTURE OF MATERIALS RECOVERY

Natural Resources

industry

Contamination & Pollution

EXTRACTION

nature

Goods

individual

Material Resources

recovery

Waste

disposal

PURCHASE TRANSPORTATION

PROCESSING

CONSUMPTION PROCESSING

regulators DESIGN DISPOSAL SORTING

GOVERNMENT

MANUFACTURING

Economic Social Ecological Institutional

DISTRIBUTION

DISTRIBUTION

NGOs RECOVERED MATERIALS

The intricacies of what happens in order to create the many products we enjoy today are not well known by the general public. We have become so distanced from the making of the items we consume and unfamiliar with the infrastructure of mass production, it’s difficult to understand the life cycle of a product and its impact.

1

Wendy Jedlicka in Packaging Sustainability speaks to our tendency to over simplify and neglect the consequences: “Humankind has excelled at taking the world apart and reassembling the pieces to our bidding. This process is called reductionism...reductionism has failed to help us address our biggest problems. The by-products of reductionism are the massive environmental changes occurring today.”

The portrayal of this life cycle will always be incomplete,1 because the inner-workings involved in manufacturing processes, from extraction of natural resources to delivery at point of sale, and later its final destination, tend to be oversimplified. Keeping in mind these limitations, this chapter looks to provide a general overview of the infrastructure behind waste management, from technical terms to stakeholders relationships, serving as a educational tool for non-experts. It also covers the gathered insights and takeaways and reflections discovered through my investigation.

Basic Technical Terms The following definitions are the most common technical terms used in the waste management industry. They reveal the need for accessible language, distilled from jargon and convoluted terms. The simplification of these terms would be the first step towards framing a mindset of zero-waste for citizens.

Waste

Resource Recovery

Single Stream Recycling

(also referred to as rubbish, trash,

A term describing the extraction and

(also known as “fully commingled”

refuse, garbage, or junk) is unwant-

utilization of materials and energy

or “single-sort”) recycling refers to

ed or unusable materials.

from the waste stream. Materi-

a system in which all paper fibers

The McGraw-Hill Recycling Handbook & Wikipedia

als recovered can be used as “raw

and containers are mixed together

materials” in the manufacturing of

in a collection truck, instead of being

new products. An integrated recov-

sorted into separate commodities

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

ery program may include recycling,

(newspaper, cardboard, plastic,

A waste type that includes predomi-

waste-to-energy, composting and/

glass, etc.) by the resident and

nantly household waste (domestic

or other components with a landfill

handled separately throughout the

waste) with sometimes the addition

for residue disposal.

collection process. In single stream,

Source: The McGraw-Hill Recycling

both the collection and processing

Handbook

systems are designed to handle

of commercial waste collected by a municipality within a given area.

They are in either solid or semisolid

this fully commingled mixture of

form and generally exclude indus-

Zero-Waste

recyclables, with materials being

trial hazardous wastes. Includes:

Maximizing recycling, minimizing

separated for reuse at a materials

nonhazardous waste generated in

waste, reducing consumption and

recovery facility.

households, commercial and busi-

ensuring that products are made to

Source: Wikipedia

ness establishments, institutions.

be reused, repaired or recycled back

Excludes: industrial processes

into nature or the marketplace.

wastes, demolition wastes,

Contamination Anything that becomes mixed

agricultural wastes, mining wastes,

Recycle in technical terms its

with a recyclable commodity that

abandoned automobiles, ashes,

defined as the act of extracting

prevents the end user from using

street sweeping, and sewage sludge.

materials from the waste stream

the commodity. Examples would be

Source: The McGraw-Hill Recycling

and reusing them in the creation

food waste in a glass jar.

Handbook & Wikipedia

of a new products or materials. It

The McGraw-Hill Recycling Handbook

Diversion Rate

separation of recyclable materials

The percentage of waste materials

from the waste. i.e. “Recycle the wa-

diverted from traditional disposal

ter bottled by placing it in the blue

such as landfilling or incineration to

bin.” Both uses imply the process of

be recycled, composted, or re-used.

collection, separation, processing,

EPA Definition

marketing, selling and finally making

is generally also used to mean: the

products with recycled content.

The McGraw-Hill Recycling Handbook

Stakeholders The infrastructure of materials recovery is defined by the relationships of the stakeholders.

They are interdependent of each other, influenced by social and geographical context, market resources and local policies of a particular municipality. The following descriptions are specific to the San Francisco, from the stories and interviews gathered from field research.

Curbside Programs Business are contracted by the city Nature

The Regulators

to collected materials for recycling,

Our main resource for quality of

San Francisco’s Environment

composting and proper landfill

life, and for extracting materials

Department oversees the adequate

disposal. In San Francisco County

used in the creation of products.

disposal of waste in a way that

Recology, Inc. services citizens

It supports, affects and its affected

does not harm the environment

through its “Fantastic three” curb-

by the whole system in positive

and the health of its citizens. They

side bin system for single and

and negative ways.

also motivate policies regarding

multi-family homes. Recology, Inc

diversion and producer responsibil-

also provides rental and hauling

ity. The organization works closely

of construction debris boxes and

with other governments institutions,

transfer stations where locals can

The Industry (Manufacturers)

for example the U.S. Environmental

drive-in recyclables and hazardous

Provides goods and services

Protection Agency (EPA).

materials. In 2009, Recology, Inc.

to consumers. They manage

reported fiscal sales of $355 M.

manufacturing processes and are

( source: BNET.com )

in the best position to motivate a transition into cradle-to-cradle

The Individual (consumer & citizen)

practices.

As consumers, individuals affect

Centers where the general public

the market through their purchases.

can bring recyclable or hazardous

As citizens, they are involved in the

materials and cash-in Bottle bill

collection of materials for recy-

items. They are structure different

Non-profit organizations

cling and landfill disposal. They are

depending on the community, from

Are usually citizen initiated grass-

indirectly affected by industry and

supermarkets to industrial spaces.

roots organizations. Their role

government decisions that impact

expands from pushing regulations

the environment and consequently

regarding product stewardship and

their health.

Drop-Off / Buy-Back Centers

Informal Collection It is independent informal labor

pollution, to creating awareness

usually carried out by individuals

about recycling, composting and its

on foot or on pick-up trucks.

benefits for the environment. Some

A common example observed in

organizations are also involved in

Formal and Informal Collectors

the streets of San Francisco are the

the creation of local economies and

There are different types

homeless with shopping carts filled

recycling markets.

of collection methods.

with recyclables.

A DAY IN THE LIFE: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU THROW SOMETHING AWAY? It is somewhat of a mystery what

Revealing the trajectory of materials

The following visual narrative

happens after we throw an item

recovery and disposal provides a

focuses on products of short-term

away. The journey from the garbage

deeper understanding of the invisible

use for their lack of perceived value.

bin to the landfill or recycling center

systems supporting our everyday

These one-time-use objects tell no

remains unintentionally hidden

lives. It allows us to internalize the

stories and hold no memories—

from citizens.

consequences of our consumption

they never become possessions,

and provides transparency.

as they are inherently disposable.

Blue Bin for Recycling Black or Gray Bin for Trash Green Bin for Composting

It all starts with the bins. Disposed

The recycling-landfill truck picks

materials are collected by Recology’s

up materials at homes and business

curbside “Fantastic Three” program

following their assigned routes.

in a two sided truck: one side for

Once the truck’s compartments

landfill and the other for recyclables.

are at full capacity they are taken

Compost is collected by a separate truck,

to transfer stations.

individual

and is not included in this narrative.

First compartment is used for Black Bin contents

Second compartment is used for recyclables

Material Resources

recovery

TRANSPORTATION

Two different transfer stations are used

First, they stop at the landfill transfer

for processing materials, one for landfill

station located at 501 Tunnel Street,

items and another one for recovering

San Francisco, CA. The station

materials for recycling. Recology city

serves as a processing center for trash

trucks make two stops to empty their

discards and a drop-off center for

storage compartments.

the general public.

First Phase: Process landfill waste

Vehicles are weighted to determine amount of diverted materials

Here they can bring recyclables and

All items brought to the station

hazardous materials or appliances.

must be weighted. Weighting the

It hosts an artist in residence program,

vehicles allows Recology and the

as well as a garden with art installations

city of San Francisco to keep track

made from rescued materials.

the amount of waste processed and diverted at this facility.

Entrance to pit area

PROCESSING

Truck dumps all contents from the black bin compartment

The tractor compresses the waste in the pit

PROCESSING

All landfill items are dumped and

Materials dumped at the pit are never

compressed at the pit area of the

touched or screened by Recology

station. They are later transferred

personnel for health safety. If a person

into a bigger truck for transportation

mistakenly puts a plastic bottle on

to the landfill.

the trash bin, it will go directly to the landfill, as such items are never sorted.

A conveyer belt moves discards into larger tonnage truck

The landfill area assigned to Recology

Altamont landfill is owned by

is the Altamont landfill located at

Waste Management, Inc, to whom

Livermore, CA, an hour away from

Recology and SF Environment pay

the city of San Francisco.

a fee for dumping and processing their waste.

recovery

Second Phase: Burry waste at Altamont Landfill Livermore, CA

Waste

disposal

Dump Cell Site

Once the truck reaches the landfill, it is routed to the dumping cell site assigned for the day.

Each day, at least 250 trucks dump their waste at the cell, which is then covered and treated. Once originally a canyon, Altamont landfill is estimated to have a depth of at least 300 meters of waste.

When looking closely at the items deposited in the landfill, one can find many materials which could have been rescued and used for recycling or composting.

It raises the question: How effective is the materials recovery infrastructure if these items still end up here?

Equipment absorbing methane for quality control and waste-to-energy initiatives can be found at Altamont Landfill

disposal

Recology and SFEnvironment work

Initiatives towards waste-to-energy

together to handle policies and

are encouraged by these institutions,

regulation related to dumping at

specifically the collection of methane

the Altamont landfill.

gas to produces electricity, which is connected to the PG&E grid.

Plastic bags are one of the overwhelming contents of the landfill, contaminating it surroundings as they are captured by the wind and fly away

Third Phase: Process recyclable items

The second transfer station where

This station also serves informal

Recology processes materials for

collectors in pick-up trucks and other

recycling is located at Pier 96

vehicles. The most common items

in San Francisco.

brought by these third parties are cardboard, paper and plastic containers.

TRANSPORTATION

Trucks wait in line to be weighted before entering the facility

PROCESSING

When trucks with recyclables reach the

Here, items are separated by type of

facility, they are weighted once again.

material through an automated sorting

Thereafter, they dump the materials

process utilizing a series of conveyor

in a warehouse space called the

belts, giant magnets and spinning disks.

Materials Resource Facility or MRF.

Once inside the station, the recycling compartments are emptied

Scanners and sensors are used to detect and sort the different materials as they pass through the different conveyor belts

Employees at the MRF also stand next

Many of the people working at these

to the conveyor belt, handpicking items

facilities are first generation immigrants.

hard to recognize and separate through

Women at the MRFs tend to do the

the automated process.

hand-sorting labor, while the men perform the truck driving tasks.

SORTING

Large non-recyclable items are picked out by manual sorters

Materials are compacted and bailed to be a dimension of about 48” x 30” x 60”

TRANSPORTATION

After the items are separated by

These means materials are not

material, they get baled to be sold as

recycled by Recology, but mainly

a commodity in the recycling market.

collected for the purpose of selling.

Brokers connect collectors with re-manufacturers who buy these scraps as feedstock .

Materials are sold to a re-manufacturer or scrap broker.

They are transported in containers that can carry up to 1 Ton of materials.

Phase Four: From the Recology Recycle Center, materials are usually transported to The Port of Oakland (if they are going over seas) or to local manufacturers

The ability of re-manufacturers to find

Because most of the collected

feedstock for recycling, and the ability

materials are sold on the international

of the collector to provide a good

market, Recology sends many of its

quality feedstock, is what creates a

bailed material to the Port of Oakland

stable recycling market.

to be shipped over seas.

China is the most common destination for recylables

DISTRIBUTION

DISTRIBUTION

The recovered material like aluminium

Paper, plastic and other scrap

and glass usually tend to stay locally,

material are sold to countries like

purchased by companies like Strategic

China, Korea and India.

Materials and Anheuser-Busch.

Containers are removed from their carrying trucks and placed in cargo ships to reach their designated destinations

Fifth Phase: Distribution to International Markets

Once materials are shipped overseas

The material not recovered or residual

or sold to a third party, it is very hard

from the recycling sorting process

to know what happens to it.

are sent to the landfill.

This situation limits accountability, for we do not know how much was actually used for recycling.

DISTRIBUTION

THOUGHTS ON THE ECONOMICS OF MATERIAL RECOVERY Throughout my evaluation of the

These conversations also illuminated

Quality of materials is measured by

trajectory of discards in the city of

the tension between collection

contamination levels. The higher

San Francisco, many questions came

methods (single-stream vs. sorting

the contamination, the greater the

to mind. As I visited facilities and

at source) and material quality.

investment the manufacturer needs

spoke to experts, I collected stories

to make to clean up the materials so

which highlight the challenges and

The purpose of recovering materials

that it can be used. The poorer the

successes of the industry.

for recycling is to provide high quality

job at collecting uncontaminated

feedstock to manufacturers to

materials, the higher the production

Through these conversations it

produce new products with these

cost to the manufacturer, discourag-

became apparent how the city’s high

salvage materials. The recovered

ing the use of recovered materials.

diversion rate is greatly related to

materials need to meet certain

its geographical location. The close

standard of quality to be able to

The following interview excerpts

proximity to the Port of Oakland

replace the use of virgin materials.

provide reflection and encourage

encourages economies of exchange

When collectors fail to meet these

critical questioning of the different

which support recycling markets.

standards, they disrupt the recycling

incentives supporting the current

market by not producing enough

materials recovery model.

Additionally, the adoption of a city-

feedstock to support recycling as a

wide policy mandating composting,

sustainable and viable alternative.

coupled with the local agricultural industry, offsets many of the organic materials produced in the city.

Altamont Landfill 501 Tunnel Transfer Station

Port of Oakland

Pier 96 Transfer Station

Port of Oakland

Hong Kong, China

“People think recycling is about materials management.

To me recycling is about energy management, for all materials using recycled materials uses far less energy than using virgin materials.�

Patty Moore Moore Recycling Assoc, Inc

“You need to have a place to send the material after you have recovered it— you need to be able to sell it.

The selling of the material then goes to the companies that are able to pay for it.”

Rebbeca Jewel Waste Management

“The cost of the labor is an influence on whether the raw material stays locally in the US or goes abroad. When I first started we had a lot of mills around here, we had a bunch of them, and slowly one by one they closed.�

Bo Dong Recology, Pier 96 Transfer Station

“We buy all the materials from Waste Management to be re-sold in other countries.

We are the middle man— the broker.

They are bought by multinationals to make products.

They place it in big pans, melt it and transfer it into raw materials and re-sell it to be used by other manufacturers.”

Emilio Zamora ALCO

“If you want to get 75% diversion everybody has to participate.

The separate bin system, where you have different bins for paper, plastics, glass, it’s a disadvantage —it’s too complicated.

Residents get confused, they get frustrated, they don’t want to do it.”

Rebbeca Jewel Waste Management

“Communities are under a lot of pressure to divert waste and its quite proven to show that if you give people one bin, they will put more in there.

Whether the actual recyclables goes up or not, certainly the tonnage diverted goes up and that’s all the cities care about.”

Patty Moore President, Moore Recycling Assoc, Inc

“Single-stream is not a good idea because it degrades the quality of the materials so much.

Everybody is only focused on how do we divert stuff from the landfill, when they need to focus on: how do we handle materials so they work for manufacturing?�

Susan Kinsella Executive Director, Conservatree

“Single stream sucks and almost everyone you’ll talk to will tell you it sucks.

The only good thing is that you have one garbage can you have to throw all your recyclables in.

The city of whatever says it’s got an 80 percent diversion rate; they are diverting their trash to me, that’s not recycling.”

Strategic Materials (Published in MotherJones.com, My Trash’s Afterlife - Part 2)

“Caring a little won’t work in a multi-bin process. You have to sort it and sort it well.

You have to commit to a multi-bin process.

The disadvantage of a single-stream process is that you have to sort it all back out at the MRFs.” Rebbeca Jewel Waste Management

“The city and the government, almost none of them know what is involved in manufacturing, so they are looking at a piece of the puzzle of the recycling system—they are looking at collection.”

Susan Kinsella Executive Director, Conservatree

SORTING OUT DILEMMAS: WHO SHOULD SORT AND WHY? The convenience of single-stream

The process of recycling relies on

When looking at other collection

recycling has come at the cost

interdependence. Proper participation

models, such as independent recycling

of material quality. As citizens com-

by all constituents is what creates

centers, the positive impact of source

mingle recyclables in one bin, they

a sustainable model. If an entity is

separation is apparent. This places the

contaminate the materials, causing

at risk, the system must re-adjust.

question of who should sort and why

it to lose value. Yet, single-stream

The observations and stories from

at the center.

has the benefit of less liability and

the field research attest to the

more profit for collectors, thus

importance of high quality material.

they prefer it. Government officials

Jeopardy of this sole aspect threatens

anxious to divert, fail to recognize

the main purpose of the system—

the severity of the contamination

the creation of new products

issue, leaving manufacturers to

from old ones.

figure it out on their own.

SINGLE-STREAM RECYCLING (SINGLE-SORT)

Individual

Recovery

MRFs

Materials are commingled in one bin for easy collection and increased participation.

Contamination:

Materials are separated

Unwanted materials mix

by type to be sold on

with desired materials,

the recycling market.

preventing recyclability.

Observed at Downtown Oakland: an informal collector

He devised a clever way

scavenges public garbage cans

of collecting and transporting his recyclables

Independent recycling centers (drop-off

Informal collectors tend to be among the

centers) get their materials from

homeless and undocumented immigrants.

informal collectors who scavenge and

These individuals contribute to the recycling

sort materials in exchange of a monetary

market by providing low cost labor.

compensation. It is very common to see

Unfortunately, this behavior tends to be

this behavior throughout the city.

frown upon and at times considered illegal.

Other informal collectors use pick-up trucks to scavenged cardboard from public spaces

INFORMAL COLLECTION & TRANSPORTATION

Hand sorting recyclables to sell to the organization SF Community Recyclers 2020 Market Street San Francisco, California

SORTING AT SOURCE

Informal Collector

When materials are scavenged by

This requirement guarantees

informal collectors, they make sure the

minimum level of contamination and

items are not mixed together. They do

protects the quality of the recovered

this because buyers (recycling centers)

material. The higher the quality of

won’t purchase materials unless they

the material, the higher the return

are sorted by type.

for the recycling center.

Recycling centers may even n sort by brand to guarantee e material consistency y Alco Materials 1091 Doolittle Drive San Leandro, CA

Materials prices can be found in message boards at the recycling center Paper Rush Co Inc 2370 Jerrold Avenue, San Francisco, CA

Collectors (sellers) weight the materials

The price fluctuates according to

at the recycling center to be compensated.

the demand in the recycling market

The amount paid depends on the

and the city mandated price for

rate of the material that day.

buy-back programs.

SORTING

Some recycling centers hire employees to hand sort paper types to ensure quality National Recycling Corporation 1312 Kirkham Street Oakland, CA

Lakeside Non-Ferrous Metals 412 Madison Street Oakland, CA

A recycling center employee working to ensure materials are loading properly on bailer machine

Once the materials are sorted by type,

This means, they are able to accomplish

recycling centers employ the same process

the same outcome, without the cost of

as Recology. They bailed their materials to

automated and mechanized sorting process.

be sold in the recycling market.

SORTING

National Recycling Corporation 1312 Kirkham Street Oakland, CA

Stored materials waiting to be purchased for recycling

CONTAMINATION AFFECTS THE RECYCLING MARKET

1 TON

Weight is the principal unit of measurement

If a buyer, for example, receives 20% of some-

for pricing materials. Materials are sold judged

thing other than the material they purchased per

by the weight of the bails. Bails are stored

weight, they have lost money. This discourages

until they have reached the maximum carrying

the purchase of recovered materials.

weight of a container: 20 Tons.

Smurfit-Stone Recycling Co 800 77th Avenue Oakland, CA

Separated at MRFs Glass is one of the materials most affected

Source Separated at Recycling Center

by contamination. During the collection

When depositing glass at a recycling

process it is prone to break and mix with

center, they tend to remain whole and in

other unwanted materials.

better condition due to sorting at source.

MAIN TAKEAWAY

THERE IS A DISTORTED VIEW OF DIVERSION METRICS & ZERO WASTE Diversion doesn’t necessarily equal recycled.

Zero waste is not diversion.

For Recology and the City of San Francisco materials

Sending materials outside a municipality without

are accounted for as diverted when they are sold

accountability of whether or not those materials

to manufacturers. Yet, as the case for Strategic

were in fact recycled does not reflect the intended

Materials, many of these materials are never used

values of zero waste. Zero waste is about securing

because they are highly contaminated. Since collectors

close-loop manufacturing to avoid the use of natural

do not keep track of what happens to a material after it

resources. Under the current model we are transferring

has left their facility, diversion numbers are not balanced

the responsibility of our waste to someone else.

and diversion rates suffer distortion.

SECOND TAKEAWAY

PROPER SORTING SUPPORTS RECYCLING MARKETS High quality materials are essential for recyclers.

Recycling manufacturers need to reach an end product comparable with what can be produced using virgin materials. To accomplish this, they need to obtain raw materials of high quality, its the only way they can compete.

THIRD TAKEAWAY

ZERO WASTE DEPENDS ON THE HEALTH OF THE RECYCLING MARKET Without recycling markets, we can’t reach Zero Waste The business of selling recovered materials is what sustains the possibility of manufacturing recycled products. If the recycling market fails, Zero Waste fails.

“It goes back to the systemic question: With how wide a lens do we look at the effects and the unintended consequences of what we are doing?

We have been able to survive in this highly compartmentalized world where it works here and who cares what happens outside of the very narrow focus in which we live.�

Jeffrey Hollender Seventh Generation

MICRO PERSPECTIVE: THE EXPERIENCE OF SORTING

Sorting is something we are all familiar with, in fact, we do it all the time.

To classify is human 1. We sort things by having defined categories in which to classify them. The “fantastic three� program in San Francisco has three: trash, recycling and compost. These classifications seem very simple, and they would be, if only they had standards.

1

Bowker, Geoffrey C., and Susan Leigh Star. Sorting Things out Classification and Its

Every municipality has its own way of sorting their disposables. Each place is different, because each locality has different recycling markets available or unavailable to them. For example, in San Francisco, we throw the coffee cup

TOP Recology 900 Seventh Street San Francisco, CA

in the compost and the lid in the recycling. In Seattle, they throw the cup in the recycling and the lid in the trash. The lack of standardization and open classification of what is or is not recyclable can make sorting very confusing.

Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. 10/09

RECYCLE

NORMS

TOOLS

The marketing materials designed

The design research prototypes

by SF Environment and Recology

explored in the following chapter

represent the first step towards

build on this initial step and explores

creating communication tools

ways in which we can create

that reinforce social norms.

larger systems.

Observed at the home of a design research participant.

Educational materials were attached to the refrigerator as a constant reminder of how to properly classify

It is as if we expect every single individual to be able to carry a memorized database of each different type of product and material, and its associated classification in relation to the individual’s location. Posters, flyers, informational websites and even mobile apps are created for the objective of enforcing this knowledge. The institutions of SF Environment and Recology, who work together to educate San Franciscans about the acceptable items in the different bins, fail to see how the expectation of such memorization of classification is limiting.

They believe awareness of this information is all that is needed. If only citizens cared enough, or were not so lazy, they would do place the item in the right bin.

As a result, despite of all the educational efforts, citizens remain largely confused. Throughout my research I could not fail to encounter the inescapable question: “Is this recyclable?” Even with all the knowledge I had gathered in my this project, I did not always knew the answer.

Apart from the frustration people feel by not knowing how to properly classify materials into recycling, compost and trash, there is a far greater limitation to the experience of sorting. People have rarely heard of the word ‘contamination’ used in relation to their collected recyclables. For the public, the main purpose of sorting for recycling (to avoid contamination) was unknown. People recycle because it makes them feel good about themselves. They are encouraged to do so because of the contribution they can make to a healthier environment. The practical specifics about why we sort the way we do, with what intention and for what end remain unexplained. This means, the individual is left unaware of his role in the entire recycling system, and its dependence on his/her proper participation.

The following chapter overviews the design explorations revealing these discoveries. They begin with the question of who should sort and why, starting from the citizen’s context, and connecting the bigger picture of the inner-workings of the recycling market. These experiments expand from the California College of the Arts campus, to the design studio, into the homes of students. I use prototypes as actionable design research intended to educate, confront and raise curiosity about the hidden life of waste.

LEFT Recycle Poster used for educational purposes

by SF Environment.

Flyer handouts attached to fridge, observed at the Matt’s home.

Debris box found on campus at California College of the Arts in the fall of 2009, then Recology was called Sunset Scavenger

COMMUNITY

The lack of transparency about what

This was the case of California College of

happens at recycling centers is such that

the Arts in 2009, who for many years

institutions deeply rooted in sustainable

contracted a construction and demolition

values might believe they are recycling,

debris box from Recology for under the

when in fact, they are not.

assumption recyclables were sorted.

Recycling bin found on campus, despite recycling was not taking place

Two bins could be found around the

When a construction and demolition

campus, one for recycling and the other

debris box gets to the transfer station,

one for trash. At night, Janitors would

its usually sorted for wood and other

collect the disposables from these to bins

construction materials. Recyclables are

and place it in the same debris box.

lost in this process.

COMMUNITY

Janitors commingling gray and blue bin to be later dumped into construction and demolition debris box

The high levels of contamination found in a commigled resufe bag is self-evident when observing its contents

COMMUNITY

Sorted cardboard observed in campus

The city-mandated recycling and composting

My design research prototypes took place

ordinance forced CCA to adjust their contract

during this transition. It allowed me to

to comply with the three bin sorting system.

observe a community as it learned new

It was at this moment the facility managers

social norms.

became aware of the misconception.

Janitors collecting recyclables found on campus

Early observations at CCA demonstrate

The material became a secondary aspect

our human inclination to classify and sort.

of the sorting process. Sorting at source was

Instead of classifying by what is or is not

taking place at the campus, independent

recyclable, I observed sorting by type of

from established structures. Janitors and

object: bottle, can, cardboard box.

students collected the items to deposit them at buy-back centers.

Student organization sorting by type of object observed on campus

COMMUNITY

We dumpster dive into the debris box to recover the discards. We found many of the items left behind where in its majority related to food consumption and secondly art materials and supplies.

1/5 OF WASTE FROM ONE WEEKEND This initial prototype was done in collaboration with CCA student Ellen Keith. It was intended as a invervention of sorts. Through showcasing 1/5 of waste from one weekend we looked to make what we throw ‘away’ stay and inspire reflection.

Throughout the process we encouraged students to share their thoughts about recycling at CCA. The installation also served as a guerrilla announcement of sorts, introducing the new sorting system taking place the following semester.

COMMUNITY

The exercised allowed us to collect feedback

The following pages were collected from

from students and voice their concerns about

the exercise and exemplify the need for

consumption, waste, the need for reducing

transparency and development of programs

and reusing, and how these could come to

that address reuse and waste reduction in

play in the CCA community.

the campus.

“It just shows the excess of our consumerism and our consumption... that we don’t use most of it. We get rid of all these goods and for what. We can make perfectly good things out of all those items there.”

“Other than the fact that there are blue recycle bins and black garbage bin I really haven’t had any education at all about recycling at CCA. Definitely not in classes.”

“Why do janitorial staff put blue and gray trash in the same bins when they come around at night? Why do we separate stuff in the first place?�

Black or Gray Bin for Trash Blue Bin for Recycling Green Bin for Composting

COMMUNITY

In the spring semester of 2010 CCA

As a consequence, it was also required that

replaced the construction and demolition

the school placed around its campus green,

container for three smaller containers

blue and black bins. Students, faculty and

allocated for recycling, compost and trash.

all campus members needed to sort their

With this system the school now met the

disposables materials, in this way contributing

requirements mandated by law.

to raising diversion rates.

Observtions on campus: Certain elements where easy to recognized and place in their proper bin

Even though the school fully transitioned

Becuase of this situation, Ellen and I were

to the Fantastic Three Bin system, still the

once again invited to create an installation

CCA community faced adoption challenges.

that would open up the conversation.

These challenges ranged from confusion on proper sorting of materials to apathy and mis information about why and how to sort.

Other misplaced materials found in the bins signaled to the possible lack of desire to participate in proper sorting

COMMUNITY

Brainstorming the ‘Where Does it Go?’ infographic diagram

WHERE DOES IT GO?

COMMUNITY

The idea for the “Where Does It Go?”

By mapping the questions we ask ourselves, we

campus installation came from the desire

were looking to create a memorable experience

to externalize the internal mental model

that would correct misconceptions and raise

people use to decide in which bin an

questions. Through this game people could find

item should go.

themselves exploring whether their thought process was in fact correct.

Ellen Keith sketching the possible design expressions of the diagram

Layout design in progress

The infographic design build from the need to

We took a rapid-prototyping approach to

recognize materials by type of object, to then

the process, creating the piece in two days

connect it with the classification of recyclable,

and installing it over night at the entrance

compostable or trash. We used iconography

of the nave in the San Francisco campus.

to help people interpret the information faster and remember it with more ease.

The installation of the piece took about five hours. It was made with black and white printed labels and tapes of assorted colors

COMMUNITY

The first aspect of the game was to force participants to recognize the material of the object they were trying to throw away

The installation allowed us to learn about

We observed people were quick to share and

the educational and motivational needs

engage in conversations about which part of

required to participate in proper sorting.

the process were challenging.

We learned creating an embodied experience COMMUNITY

focused on play provided an alternative way of encouraging participation.

Participants navegated the diagram through answering yes or no questions

The installation was complemented with an information table with books and other educational materials

The positive response from the community

One of the greatest take aways was

encouraged CCA to leave the installation

recognizing the complexity of the thought

up for longer than planned. A two day

process required to make the correct

event turned into a week, creating more

decision. Even when it was spelled out for

momemtum around the piece and

them, people made mistakes and some still

extending its impact.

declined to participate.

COMMUNITY

Locating the installation at the entry of the campus made the project succesfull, it was an experience that could not be ignored

IS IT?

FOOD

PACKAGING IS IT?

TETRAPAK ( BOXES W/ FOIL LINER )

MYLAR

( CHIP BAG )

PLASTIC

CANS / FOIL

CAPS & LIDS OK

PAPER

GLASS

CAPS & LIDS OK

IS IT? IS IT? OTHER PAPER

( NEWSPRINT, BUTCHER PAPER )

CARDBOARD

WAXY PAPER

( MILK OR JUICE CARTONS )

COFFEEŁ CUP TAKE OFF LID

PLASTIC BAG TRY TO REUSE

CUPS / PLATE

COFFEEŁ CUP LIDS

PAPERŁ CLAMSHELL

PAPER BAG

( FOOD CONTAINERS )

STYROFOAM TRANSPARENTŁ WRAPPER

( CELLOPHANE / SARAN WRAP )

YOGURT / SOUP TUB

CLAMSHELL / UTENSILS

NAPKIN / Ł PAPERTOWEL

PLASTICŁ BOTTLE

SANDWICHŁ PAPER WRAP

IS IT?

IS IT? DIRTY WITH:Ł LABELED ASŁ

COMPOSTABLE / BIODEGRADABLEŁ

NOT LABELED

FOOD, COFFEE ORŁ GREASE, ETC.

NOT DIRTY

TRANSPARENTŁ WRAPPER ( CELLOPHANE / SARAN WRAP ) CLAMSHELL / UTENSILS

COFFEEŁ CUP LIDS

STYROFOAM

MYLAR

( CHIP BAG )

PACKAGING

PLASTIC BAG

CUPS / PLATE

TRY TO REUSE

CANS / FOIL

“Smart Project! Helps figure out where to put trash. Would like to see more of it around campus”

ALTERNATIVE RECYCLING PROGRAM

COMMUNITY

The insights of the ‘Where Does it Go?

It educated participants on the issues

installation, together with the understanding

of contamination and how it affects the

of the waste management industry lead me

recycling cycle. Participants experienced a

to pursue an Alternative Recycling Program.

different way of separating, one that focused

The objective was to help people understand

on recognizing type of objects and materials,

the importance of sorting.

rather than an object’s recyclability.

The prototype took place inside the

The final bins set was designed to take into

Graduate Design studio in California College

consideration the type of material separation

of the Arts, a space shared by more than

required for selling recovered items in the

forty students. Two iterations of the

recycling market.

prototype where made, which tested out different combinations of bins and sorting.

COMMUNITY

All other plastics and steal materials were placen in a seperate bins. Plastics 3-7 and other metals are of lower value and are confusing to identify.

Aluminium cans and plastic bottles No. 1 & 2 were placed in the same bin, for these items are of high value, easily

A single bin was selected for glass due to its easy recognition and tendency

recognizable and commonly sold in

of breaking in the

the recycling market. Also, the tools

collection process.

required for separating cans from bottles are of low cost.

Paper scrap is sold as white and/or mixed paper, the paper bins reflect this market trend. A soil paper was added as a way to exclude dirty and contaminated paper from the other bins.

A liquids bins was added to remove liquid contaminants from bottles, also to reduce the height of the discards reducing transportation costs.

To test the effectiveness of the alternative

This process was similar the methodologies

sorting system, every couple of days I sorted

used for recycling audits bone by waste

through the materials thrown in each bin and

management experts. Documenting the

evaluated the level of contamination. As part

discards inside each bin gave me insights

of the process I documented the content of

into the type of materials most consumed

each bin with a photograph.

in the studio and our collective habits. .

To complete the exercize I asked the studio

Some of the questions asked: What are the

members to participate in a survey. I wanted

types of materials more difficult to recog-

to compare the observations gathered to

naize in a scale of 1-7(easy / hard)? What

users feedback.

were the biggest benefits and barriers of participating? Would you adopt this system if it become the new norm?

The survey revealed plastic bottles No. 1 & No. 2, aluminium cans and glass are easiest and most recognizable materials.

Aluminum Cans

Plastic Bottles No.1 & No.2

easy

hard

Glass

Mylar

The survey revealed plastic bottles No. 1 & No. 2, aluminium cans and glass are easiest and most recognizable materials.

Plastics No.1 to No.7, except bottles

Tetrapak

Transparent Film

Other variations of plastic (3-7), mylar and transparent film are confusing to categorize and sort.

THE INSPIRATION: RECYCLING PRACTICES FOR DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

In the summer 2009, I received a grant from the Center for Art and Public Life to facilitate a workshop aimed at university students in their last year of study. It seemed ideal to work with young professionals who were about to enter the work arena. Providing them with tools could activate them as agents of change and further contribute to their professional development. In the workshop, “Recycling Practices for the Dominican Republic,� twenty students from different disciplines learned methodologies of design research and design thinking. For this purpose, they investigated the systems and practices behind waste and recycling in Santo Domingo.

During four weeks of training in the workshop, the students practiced interview techniques and learned about the importance of empathy, how to observe, brainstorm, synthesize and rapidly prototype solutions. To proRIGHT Alley in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

vide a broad perspective, they also visited different locations around the country, enabling them to have a micro and macro analysis. This systems thinking approach allowed them to discover five areas of opportunity: the home, educational institutions, industry and commerce, and public areas, the City Council waste management department: Ayuntamiento del Distrito Nacional.

At the end of the workshop, the ideas were depicted through graphic design and shared with the Dominican community. The final keynote presentation took place at INTEC university in Santo Domingo. It was well attended by professionalsand students interested in alternative solutions. The participating students of the workshop saw themselves first as concerned citizens, second as prefessionals, contributing to the Dominican community and facilitating neccesary social change.

LEFT Street sidewalk in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

The workshop was created to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing. Together the students elaborated design ideas aligned with their vision for waste management and recycling in Dominican Republic. Their ideas follow:

In the home, the kitchen became the central space for learning about recycling practices.

Family exercises and a multi-bin systems for source separation was recommended.

An internal campaign for materials reduction was proposed for educational institutions, motivating students and faculty to reduce their paper use.

A coalition organization for industry and commerce responsible for the exchange of recovered materials was presented as a facilitator of industrial ecology.

For public areas, a multi-bin system consistent with the one proposed for the home was also recommended, together with community ‘happenings’ as awareness campaigns.

Suelo para vegetación Tierra compactada Arena Residuos

Biodigestores Rurales RIO

RIO

Pedro Brand

Santo Domingo Norte Guerra

RS Duquesa

RIO

RIO

Los Alcarrizos

DN

Santo Domingo Este

Boca Chica

Gases Biodigestores Urbanos

Finally, the City Council waste management department was completely re-imagined. Simple infrastructure changes to Impermeabilización

waste-to-energy technologies, which generated electricity through biodigestors, were proposed. This last aspect showed how recycling and resource recovery could not only resolve the garbage problem, but also provide solutions to other areas in need of change. To this day Dominicans experience seven to twelve hours or more of daily blackouts.

CASE STUDIES & REFERENCES The following projects showcase the different threads pursued throughout the development of this thesis: How behavioral change can be self motivated, once we understand the pressing issues related to our environment.

The potential of using technology to leverage adaptation, control and knowledge.

The power of design to propose an alternative narrative, thus shift paradigms.

Data visualization as a tool for representing complex structures and making information accessible.

The potential of decentralized systems and how can they inform sustainable models.

Finding the space where art meets design with the intention of experiencing pleasure and beauty, simultaneously motivating critical thinking and behavioral change.

Through the ideation phase, many case studies—whether self-initiated projects, design provocations, business models or technological innovation—have served to inform this thesis. The following are brief references to notable work which has inspired my investigation. They are an expression of the current zeitgeist in sustainability practices and design concerned with the throw-away society and its consequences.

Starting from personal projects as critique and ethical statements, “No Impact Man” and “Clean Bin Project” are reactions to the frustration of not fully understanding the amount of negative impact an individual can have on the environment. “No Impact Man” is Colin Beavan, a New York writer. He pledged a zero waste lifestyle for a full year for himself and his family. He gave up all types of behaviors that implied leaving a carbon footprint. His story shows us what is like to make such radical change. Similarly, “Clean Bin Project” is the experiment of three roommates from Canada: Grant, Jen and Rhyannon, who decide to give up buying anything new and live without producing any household garbage for a whole year. At the end of the twelve months they produced 12 pounds of garbage—what an average American would produce in only two days. Both projects are of great sources of inspiration for this thesis because they showcase the challenges that citizens phase at making everyday decisions and what are the biggest barriers when deciding to op-out of certain practices.

In relation to business models, Recycling Bank is a curbside recycling program designed by Ron Gonen, which is currently being used in different municipalities to motivate recycling. Through RFID technology found in the recycle bin, Recycle Bank can connect individual customers with an online service account that tracks their recycling contributions. Members earn points for the amount of items they recycle. These points can later be redeem and exchanged for products. They also inform their customers about savings resources such as trees and oils, thus providing positive reinforcement to their efforts.

No Impact Man noimpactman.

Clean Bin Project cleanbinproject.

Recycle Bank recyclebank.com

The integration of technology into waste management systems, specially

1

by Jim Poss and the ReNew bin used in public areas of London. BigBelly is a

BigBelly Solar, “Welcome to BigBelly: Your Solid Waste Management System,” Big Belly Solar, www.bigbellysolar.com/products/

solar compactors that can send data through standard text messaging format

2

in the design of the bin can also be appreciated in the BigBelly Solar conceived-

when the bin is full. Its innovation lies is its ability to reduce collection trips, fuel use and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80%. 1 The ReNew bin, on the other hand, utilizes the unit as a display. It can be programmed depending on the location, providing pertinent information to the passerby, as well as serving the double use of a recycling container.

BigBelly Solar bigbellysolar.

ReNew renewsolution.

A more edgy technology case study is the project Trash Track by MIT SENSEable City Lab in which a microeletromechanical system is used to tag trash items and follow them through the city’s waste management system, revealing the final journey of everyday objects in a series of real time visualizations.2 This project speaks to our desire to understand what happens after we dispose of items and what are the ‘invisible’ processes of the removal-chain.

The project also demystifies the systems by showing the “stark contrast of trash in its physical presence as well as the work involved in dealing with it day in and day out.” 3

Trash Track senseable.mit.edu/trashtrack/

MIT Senseable City Lab, “Introduction,” MIT Senseable City Lab senseable.mit.edu/trashtrack/

3

MIT Senseable City Lab, “Visualizations,” MIT Senseable City Lab senseable.mit.edu/trashtrack/visualizations. php?id=2

A great source of inspiration, in terms of data visualization, is GOOD magazine “Transparency� series. Through this medium current statistics are shown in an artful and beautiful way to raise awareness towards important environmental and social issues. It makes information accessible and easy to understand, serving as a great education tool for citizens.

GOOD Magazine Data Viz good.is/departments/transparency

Other visualizations worth noting are Fake Plastic Fish and Building Dashboard. They are examples of individual and business statistics, which provide consumption feedback through metrics. Fake Plastic Fish is the project of Oakland resident Beth Terry, who, after learning about the Pacific Garbage Patch, decided to reduce the amount plastic she consumed. She has documented her process and shared it with everyone in the web. Images of three years of weekly plastic consumption, as well as metrics in the form of excel tables can also be found on her blog. Building Dashboard was developed by Lucid Design for sustainable and LEED certified buildings. This dashboard helps business, school and other commercial spaces keep track of their energy consumption through visualizations that measure heater systems, solar panels water and other utilities.

Another project within this category is Good Guide, which provides consumers with a product rating system which enables educated consumer decisions in relation to the health and environmental impacts of a product.

Fake Plastic Fish fakeplasticfish.

Building Dashboard luciddesigngroup.

GoodGuide goodguide.

In terms of guidelines and manuals, this thesis is informed by the research project Colorblind by Continuum. The project investigated how consumers understand sustainability and what their personal environmental impact means, specially when it comes to making purchasing decisions. Another reference is IDEO’s methodology reflected in their Human Centered Design Toolkit, social innovation projects and future-vision design provocations. The ‘Living Climate Change’ website, in particular the ‘No Waste NYC’ video, serve as example of how design can help us imagine a different future.

Continuum - Colorblind www.dcontinuum.com/Col-

HCD Toolkit hcdtoolkit.com

Living Climate Change - No Trash NYC livingclimatechange.com

Decentralized business models, like Ebay, Amazon and the Postal Service are also of interest to my investigation. I’m interested in how these infrastructures can provide support for informal forms of recycling. Examples of this are the ‘Gimme 5’ and ‘Recycle Caps’ programs, where specific recyclable materials are being sent through regular mail to national businesses.

United States Postal Service www.usps.com

Preserve - Gimme 5 www.preserveproducts.com/recycling/

Recycle Caps with Aveda aveda.aveda.com/aboutaveda/caps.asp

Finally, this thesis is inspired by the convergence of design and art. Art is a great tool for education and awareness through the experience of beauty, pleasure and critical thinking. Some case studies: NYC garbage project where NYC trash is sold as a collectables item that represents the identity of NY, integration of community arts in waste management infrastructure (collection bins, trucks and bags), “Manufactured Landscapes� as critique and documentation of pollution in manufacturing practices and art as social commentary.

NYC Garbage nycgarbage.

Edward Burtynsky www.edwardburtynsky.com

Chris Jordan chrisjordan.

Recycle Bin in Berlin, Ger-

Garbage Bag at Work pinktentacle.com/2007/08/ garbage-bag-art-work

The Recycling Truck Project philau.edu/today/headlines/?p=594

APPENDIX A: DOCUMENTS LAW & ORDINANCES

FILE NO.

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RESOLUTION NO. 002-03-COE

Resolution 002-03-COE Zero Waste Date

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RESOLUTION ADOPTING A DATE OF 2020 FOR SAN FRANCISCO TO ACHIEVE THE

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GOAL OF ZERO WASTE TO LANDFILL AND DIRECTING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE

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ENVIRONMENT TO DEVELOP POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO INCREASE PRODUCER

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AND CONSUMER RESPONSIBILITY IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE ZERO WASTE GOAL.

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WHEREAS, The San Francisco Commission on the Environment and the Board of

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Supervisors have passed resolutions adopting a goal of zero waste for San Francisco and the

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Board of Supervisors resolution authorized the Commission on the Environment to set a date

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to achieve zero waste once San Francisco met the 50% diversion goal; and

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WHEREAS, The San Francisco Department of the Environment has determined that

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San Francisco has met the state mandated 50% diversion, by achieving a 52% diversion rate

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for the year 2001 and fully expects the California Integrated Waste Management Board to

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approve the 52% diversion rate; and

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WHEREAS, Achieving a goal of zero waste by 2020 is ambitious and will require

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product manufacturers and consumers to take responsibility to ensure that all discarded

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materials are diverted from landfill; and therefore, be it

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RESOLVED, That the Commission on the Environment adopts a date for achieving

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zero waste to landfill by 2020 and directs the Department of the Environment to develop

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policies and programs to achieve zero waste, including increasing producer and consumer

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responsibility, in order that all discarded materials be diverted from landfill through recycling,

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composting or other means.

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