Paper-cup trash bin
Overview
Being a tea lover, paper cups have bugged me every time I drank tea at a shop. Because I knew, the chances of those cups I drank tea from getting recycled was slim. The paper cups are disposable cups made of paper laminated with plastic. The paper cups are used to serve tea and coffee in bakeries, cigarette shops and other small places where they sell hot beverages. This is a case study of a trash bin to dispose of paper cups.
Team
My Role — Research — Design — Execute
Sharanu — Welding
Prasad sir — Ideation and working with PVC
Clinton — Painting
Problem
“It takes more than 20 years for the paper cup to decompose”
Paper cups are better than plastic cups. However, they are overrated. According to research a paper cup takes more than 20 years to decompose in a sealed landfill. In addition, since the pandemic most people prefer to drink from disposable paper cups rather than the glass cup which was commonly used till then. This has resulted in increased use of paper cups significantly. So without proper management, the paper cups are found everywhere on the roadside, in the vegetation, drains etc..
Goal
Design a solution to separate and contain the used tea cups so it can be recycled.
Solution
“A trash bin which can contain three times more cups compared to a conventional bin, occupies minimal space, and is cheap to produce”.
This is a 35 inches tall 12inches wide bin to dispose of paper cups. The bin costs less than 400 rs or 5 dollars to produce . The Bin is made of plastic tube and a metal base to hold the structure. The bin occupies 1 sq foot, it is waterproof and can be kept in small tight spaces.
Key Performance Indicator
“12,000 cups collected in a month”
The Bins were placed in 3 different tea shops. Every day for a month I counted the number of cups accumulated from each shop. On an average each bin collected 110–150 cups per-day. By the end of the month a total of 12,150 disposable paper cups were collected from all 3 bins.
Research
“Life cycle of a paper cup”
Scenario -1 (Right way)
The used cups are segregated and given to the garbage collectors. Which then gets Shredded and recycled.
Scenario — 2
When the used cups are littered on the ground around the shop. The vendors pile them up and light it on fire.
Scenario — 3 (most common)
Used cups are thrown on the ground. As they are very light weight they are blown away by a slight breeze and scatter away from the shops and all over the place. Polluting the environment, clogging drains and floating in water bodies.
Existing trash bins
Shopkeepers and vendors generally use paint buckets, plastic trays and cardboard boxes as trash bin. These bins are used to dump all waste. As these waste are not segregated the cups and other waste end up in landfills instead of getting recycled.
Why do paper cups end up on the ground?
Paper cups occupy a large space in the trash bins due to their volume. So the bins get full and overflow by the end of the day.
Wrong placement of the trash bins. Many times the bins are away from the area people gather to drink tea. So people toss the cups on the ground instead of putting them in the trash bin.
Ignorance of people. People unconsciously throw the cup on the ground as it’s a common practice and many people’s attitude towards trash. When the cups are thrown on the ground, as they are lightweight, they are easily blown from point A to Point B by the slightest breeze.
Users research
Shopkeepers problems
- The paper cups overflow from the bins by the end of the day and are littered everywhere around the shop
- It takes time and energy sweeping the littered cup and pilling them up.
- The bins are large and cant be kept inside the shops as they attract rodents and pests.
- People throw the cups on the ground even when there are trash bins around.
Tea drinkers problems
- Its just a paper cup
- There are no bins next to me
- I feel safe to drink from the paper cups rather than glass cups
Garbage collectors problem
- The cups volume is too huge and occupies large amount of space in the truck.
- If the cups are not segregated we will dump them in a landfill instead of sending them to recycling.
Research summary
- The reason for used cups ending up in landfills or polluting the environment is because of the poor management of the used cups.
- People prefer to use paper cups because they are cheap and avoid the hassle of washing them too reuse. Like the glass cups they used conventionally.
- People throw cups on the ground because of poor access or no access to the bins or because they are unconsciously ignorant.
- The behaviour of one person influences another person’s behaviour.
- The use of paper cups have increased significantly post pandemic.
- Segregating waste increases the chance of recycling to 100%
- The vendors cannot keep bins inside their shops at night as the shops are very small and keeping garbage bins inside the shop attract pests and rodents.
Ideation
The Ideation started with the brain storming of the possible solution to address the problem. There were two ideas that came to my mind.
Discover a new material
This idea was inspired by the biodegradable plates and spoons made of natural materials like wood and areca Leaf.
Pros
- They are 100% biodegradable
- inexpensive and can be produced without the use of a lot of resources.
Cons
- Shape of the cup is impossible to mold the shape of a teacup.
- when the cups touches the lips these organic materials tend to release their taste and odour.
- Adding hot liquid into it would make the material soft.
Re-designing the trash bin
- By the findings from the research, one of the Major issues with the paper cups was containing it efficiently.
- The vendors needed multiple small trash bins which could be placed in different areas around the shop and which could fit in their shops without attracting pests and rodents.
- The garbage collectors needed the cups to be segregated when receiving them from the vendors to process it further.
I went on with the second idea of re-designing the trash bin as it seemed practical.
Exploration
The process started with sketching on paper. There were few designs I brainstormed however these are the designs which seemed practical and closer to the goal.
- The first design is a cylinder which is big enough to slide the cups inside and small enough not to fit other trash like bottles and tetra packs.
- The second design was a metal rod with a spike on top. The users puncher the cup and the cups slide down.
- The third design was similar to a normal trash bin but with compartments for different objects.
In the end I decided to go with the first design because of its usability and the cost of production.
Making the prototype’s
Testing the prototype and iteration
1st prototype
The vacuum in the pipe created a parachute effect, which made the cup rotate and get stuck while falling
2 prototype
The wide opening and the ring stopped the cup in the middle, stopping it from falling all the way down.
3 prototype
The straight cutting of the ring was obstructing the cups to fall down and the 3 narrow vertical strips made the structure weak and buckle inwards which also restricted the fall of the cup.
Final iteration and testing
For the final Iteration I reduced the number of rings to just one and, a semicircle cut was made instead of a straight cut. The semicircle cut created a funnel effect which made the cup fall much more easily reducing friction. The reduction of the vertical strips from 3 to 2 on the sides helped the structure stay strong and avoid the buckling.
SUCCESS!!
For removing the cups from the bin, a pin was added in the bottom. When the user wants to empty the bin, removing the pin will make the cups fall and empty the bin.
The bucket (which represents a conventional bin) can hold 65 paper cups. Although in the real life scenario the bins have other trash in them, reducing the space for paper cups significantly. Our bin on the other hand holds 205 paper cups. The bin also restricts people from throwing other trash in it, So the used cups are segregated and stored in a compact form which can be sent straight to recycling.
The bottom Stand
The stand was made out of a 2.5 inch to 3 inch pvc connector. First, 4 holes were drilled to the PVC and 2 metal rods were inserted inside and welded. Then the rods were welded to a square metal frame as the base.
Paint and graphics
Green was chosen as it is the common color of the trash bind and also it stood out from the general gray cement background of most shops. Enamel paint was used to protect the plastic and the metal from the elements. The graphics of the tea cup and the recycle symbol was added to inform the users to throw “just the cups in them and not other things”.
Installation / Testing
The bin was installed near a mobile vendor’s shop. Two strategic spaces were chosen, one behind the shop and another in front of the shop. As this is where people gather to drink tea and smoke cigarettes.
Result
In 48 hrs 178 paper cups were collected in these 2 bins. And the place around was empty which meant the people who drank tea threw the paper cup in the bin. Which also meant the 178 paper cups would go to shredder without littering, burning or ending up in a landfill.
Reflection
- Research and understanding the core of the problem reveals multiple complications.
- Although In theory the idea I came up with seemed to work in my head. In reality it did not. The way I made it work was to Test — Iterate — repeat. Which I found was most reliable.
- Basic understanding of behavioural psychology is a very useful tool to learn when designing a product.
- Sharing the Idea with the team and being open to suggestions is vital for personal learning and for the product development as a whole.
- Watching the product work in real life there was a very interesting thing I noticed. People who put the cups in the bin didn’t just throw and walk away, instead they observed how the cup stacked on the previous cup. This was interesting because the bin was not just a trash bin but a product which had the element of emotion in it. It engaged the users, similar to playing a game of Tetris or watching oddly satisfying videos on youtube. There was a weird satisfaction when the cup perfectly stacked into the previous one. And the users enjoyed it.
- Lastly, the feeling of watching the product work in real life is rewarding beyond happiness.
