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Unmaking  Waste  2015  Conference  Proceedings  22  –  24  May  2015  Adelaide,  South  Australia  

Co-creating sustainable design

Session 9

Pollution in paradise: a student community engagement project involving design, construction and capacity building with the Port Resolution community, Vanuatu – David MORRIS (paper pending)

Renewing Materials: 3D Printing and Distributed Recycling Disrupting Samoa’s Plastic Waste Stream – Lionel TAITO-MATAMUA, Simon FRASER, and Jeongbin OK

Gaining People’s Insights and Experiences: Developing Sustainable Design Considerations for Small Household Appliances – Dilruba OĞUR, Yekta BAKIRLIOĞLU, Çağla DOĞAN, and Senem TURHAN

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Unmaking  Waste  2015  Conference  Proceedings  22  –  24  May  2015  Adelaide,  South  Australia  

Pollution in Paradise: a student community engagement project involving design, construction and capacity building with the Port Resolution community, Vanuatu

David MORRIS

University of South Australia, Australia

Prefabricated construction systems and autonomous servicing technologies appropriate for remote locations

Vanuatu is a country and a culture which is relatively isolated from the influences of the modern world. Its United Nations’ classification as a ‘Least Developed Country’ carries the pejorative sense of Vanuatu being underdeveloped, having lower socioeconomic status and being therefore disadvantaged. Yet Vanuatu’s relative isolation has largely preserved its cohesive Melanesian culture and its pristine natural environment. Nevertheless the influences of the modern world bring both opportunism and opportunity to Vanuatu, which raises challenging questions on how to harness economic opportunities while preserving Vanuatu’s existing cultural and natural heritage.

The paper describes work in progress on a community initiative on Tanna Island, Vanuatu to build and manage visitor accommodation with the aim of developing an exemplar enterprise to generate income for the education of youth and to maintain indigenous ownership and control of land. With this initiative come challenges in achieving a built and operational outcome which meets visitor expectations with minimal impact upon a pristine natural environment. These aspirations have a particular relevance to the rebuilding of Vanuatu following the widespread devastation in the aftermath of cyclone Pam.

Keywords: Vanuatu, community engagement, visitor accommodation

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Unmaking  Waste  2015  Conference  Proceedings  22  –  24  May  2015  Adelaide,  South  Australia  

Renewing Materials: 3D Printing and Distributed Recycling Disrupting Samoa’s Plastic Waste Stream

Lionel TAITO-MATAMUA, Simon FRASER, and Jeongbin OK

Faculty of Architecture and Design, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Industrial Design

This research addresses the serious issue of plastic waste in the Pacific. Using Samoa as a case study, we hypothesise that distributed recycling combined with 3D printing offers an opportunity to repurpose and add new value to this difficult waste stream. It also offers potential to engage diverse local communities in Samoa by combining notions of participatory design, makerspaces and ‘wikis’ of parts with traditional Samoan social concepts such as ‘Fa’a Samoa’, or ‘the Samoan way’ and sense of community.

The project seeks to explore creative and innovative solutions to repurposing plastic waste via a range of design research methods. Field work in Samoa has established the scope of the issue through interviews with different stakeholders such as Government, waste management businesses, the arts and crafts community and education. The field work has also helped identify potential product areas and collaborative partners. The different types of plastic in the waste stream have been identified and material experiments such as plastic shredding and filament extrusion are underway using low cost open source processing equipment to transform plastic waste into useable 3D printing filament. From this filament, potential 3D printed end products are explored through a hands-on researching by making process.

The experiments inform the design of speculative scenarios for workable, economically viable, socially empowering and sustainable systems for repurposing and upcycling plastic waste; printed out in the form of useful and culturally meaningful 3D printed objects, artefacts and products. We suggest that applications could range from creating greater awareness of the issue by way of tourism and the Samoan notion of ‘mea alofa’ or ‘gifting’, through to functional utensils and parts. This presents opportunities to expand Samoa’s traditional forms of craft into new self-sustaining communities, makerspaces and small scale local industries. The outputs of the initial project are intended to provoke discussion and will be used to invite participation in the implementation of these different scenarios of production.

Keywords: 3D printing, distributed recycling, participatory design, fa’a Samoa, plastic waste, upcycling

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Introduction

Marine plastic debris has been considered one of the most serious pollution problems since the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was first predicted and corroborated in the 1980s (Shomura and Yoshida 1984).

The situation has direct economic implications for pacific nations who rely on healthy marine environments as a source of sustenance and income, as well as reputational capital for tourism (Penaia 2014).

While there are many ecological initiatives that aim to collect debris from the marine environment in operation, recent research emphasises that without significant improvements in waste management the amount of plastic waste entering oceans from land will increase by a significant order of magnitude by 2025 (Jambeck et al. 2015).

Given the scale of the problem, it is unlikely that it will be resolved by any single solution. However, the emerging digital technologies associated with 3D printing provide some possibility to disrupt this relentless stream and to raise awareness of the issue (Manyika et al. 2014).

Background

As the technology of the “next industrial revolution” becomes more affordable and accessible, new scenarios of production are emerging. The advent of a $750 kitset printer from Makerbot in 2009 signalled the possibility of a made@home revolution. Students at Victoria University of Wellington responded with a recycled@home scenario and the resulting Recyclebot was the first example of a closed material loop in the form of small-scale distributed fabrication and recycling (Fisher et al. 2012).

The implications of such scenarios of making and remaking have since been critically discussed in the context of ‘3D printing a more beautiful landfill’ (Lipson and Kurman 2013) as well as scientific studies into the comparative energy efficiencies of printing with recycled filament (Baechler et al. 2013).

It formed a basis for this study. We hypothesise that digital technologies and distributed recycling combined with the social and cultural context in Samoa offers a unique opportunity to model a workable, economically viable, socially empowering and sustainable scenario for repurposing and upcycling plastic waste, by reinvigorating it in the form of useful and culturally meaningful 3D printed objects and artefacts.

We also propose moving beyond the “prosaic” (Walker 2014) by revisiting the notion of reduce/recycle/reuse with a new, more poetic strategy of reclaim/remake/reinvigorate by 1) Reclaiming not only materials but also a sense of identity in the onslaught of foreign matter; 2) (Re)Making as a form of social practice, recapturing in virtual space Samoan practices of sociable creation - transforming production from the anonymous activity it has become, to a more personal, communal activity; and 3) Reinvigorating in the sense of giving new life and meaning to matter, rather than attempting to reiterate its previous mass produced purpose.

This represents a design response to a much larger issues such as “social inequalities” and “environmental destruction” captured by Stuart Walker in Designing Sustainability (Walker 2014). It is also a design response that connects to the concept of designing and making as an empowering activity in Klaus Krippendorff’s idea of “cooperative design” (Krippendorff 2008).

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Field Research

The first step in exploring our hypothesis involved field research in Samoa. Information about plastic waste management was collected from interviews with two main stakeholders, PR (Pacific Recyclers Ltd.) and SPREP (Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme). The field work also coincided with the third International Conference on Small Islands Developing States (SIDS Conference 2014) and facilitated meetings with key organisations and businesses attending the conference. An understanding of Samoan traditions and social practices was gained from participating in Teuila (Leo 2014), Samoa’s largest annual festival and celebration of Polynesian culture. This included discourse with experts and professionals in related areas as well as visits to local residents. The following considerations have specific relevance to the project.

Waste Management in Samoa

Samoa has legislation in place with the Waste Management Act 2010 and the National Waste Management Policy 2001. However, the recycling sector consists of only a few independent operators who focus mainly on scrap metal, without an organized recycle collection scheme.

To test the economic viability of plastic recycling in 2010 PR and SPREP exported 7,642 kg of plastic waste to Australia collected between the years of 2007 and 2010 as detailed in Table 1:

Table 1: Details of accumulated plastic waste in Samoa (2007-2010)

Description Quantity (kg)

PET bottles, baled 1,782

PET bottles, ground 155

PVC white, ground 723

PVC tubes yellow, ground 290

Mixed plastic with metal 2,327

Plastic cover black, ground 2,365

Total 7,642

The financial return did not match investment (Lee 2014). Both PR and SPREP subsequently confirmed that plastic is one of their most difficult recycling issues due to its lack of monetary value (Haynes 2014) and PR concluded that on-island processing is the key to managing this growing waste problem in Samoa (Sio 2014). This observation provided economic background for our scenario.

Culture and Tradition in Samoa

A number of seemingly disparate (Dunne & Raby 2013) traditional social and cultural concepts, practices and sectors were also identified that could provide a valuable starting point for a speculative and integrative design exploration to enrich the technological context of our hypothesis – to mutual benefit.

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“Tree of Life”

Figure 1: Different uses for the different parts of the coconut palm. (diagram by Lionel Taito-Matamua)

Figure 1 shows some applications for different parts of the coconut palm as an example of a comprehensive and sustainable use of a local resource; as building materials for the Fale or traditional Samoan house; for diverse woven and carved implements and artefacts; as food or fuel; and for a wide range of exportable commercial applications. The tradition for using every part of the coconut palm is a key precedent for this study.

Art and Craft

Figure 2: Samoan artist Naomi Apelu and Exhitbition poster for the Tiapapata Art Centre (image courtesy of Tiapapata Art Centre)

Pacific nations can call on rich and longstanding craft traditions spanning functional structures and implements, through to highly decorative and symbolic artefacts. However, the field study revealed that Samoan craft communities are resourceful and not exclusively locked into traditional materials. For example, local artist Naomi Apelu (image Figure 2) has moved away from pandanus, coconut palms, and natural flax, and

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uses recycled plastic bags and palette strapping to create woven place mats, baskets and other traditional Samoan woven ornaments. Her work serves as an important precedent for an adaptable, resilient and innovative culture of craft and making where new materials and processes are integrated into and enhance traditional practice - and vice versa.

Mea Alofa

Mea alofa is the universal term that Samoans associate with gift giving. Gifts are presented at any large family occasions such as weddings and funerals, including greeting visitors. Traditionally in Samoa, the customary items which were gifted (sua) were fine mats or long lengths of tapa cloth. However, the old traditions are becoming harder to maintain due to lack of master weavers. The fine mats of today are no longer “fine” and have no function because most are too bulky to wear (Schoeffel 1999). This perceived loss of quality represents an opportunity to revisit the link between value and craft – not necessarily in the form of traditional craft but reinvigorated with digital craft, while at the same time, offering us an opportunity to revisit our explorations and understanding of digital craft in a new context (Fisher et al. 2012).

Fa’a Samoa

Betham explained the Samoan communal way of life as captured in the term “fa’a Samoa”:

“In Samoan traditional society (…) the matai, village and whole community join in this on-going responsibility of learning and living as the young are instructed, directed and guided in cultural ways and values of respect and good relationships” (Betham 2008).

Samoa’s communal way of life is most evident during times of traditional events and covers different aspects of the Samoan culture including aiga (family), gagana Samoa (Samoan language), Fa’a matai (chiefly hierarchy) and fa’alavelave (ceremonial and family obligations) (Fana'afi 1986). Extended family, friends, and local village neighbours help by sharing their time and expertise with the host family. The idea of coming together as one big family is found throughout Samoa. This concept of community is not dissimilar to online communities where users can share ideas, information and designs, freely available for others to use and modify to suit their purpose - such as thingiverse.com or openstructures.net who facilitate CAD (computer-aided design) file sharing between users in a participatory design process. We hypothesise that these communities - online communities and fa’a Samoa share similar characteristics, which can easily co-exist, and warrant testing in the field.

Education

Schools in Samoa are an important link in developing a viable ecosystem of (re)making. While a digitally capable community is necessary to provide content – 3D digital files for artefacts and products, digital fabrication may in turn offer special opportunities for education in Samoa by supporting a cultural disposition towards kinaesthetic and tactile learning (Faleolo 2013).

This approach to learning has found a new ally in the emergence of the “Maker Movement” where “physical ‘making’ is the new frontier” and brings with it a “making based model of education”, which has far reaching implications for society. The maker movement is not just about making things, “it is about developing agency, starting with the physical world, through the use of platforms and technology that make it easier to connect, learn and collaborate” (Deloitte 2014). In this respect the maker movement is

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not only aligned with modes of learning in Samoa, it is also connects to the concept of fa’a Samoa.

The Tourism Industry

Figure 3: Design concept for the Tourism Industry(diagram by Lionel Taito-Matamua)

At 20-25% of GDP Samoa’s economy is largely driven by tourism (NZMFAT 2013) and there is clear awareness of tourism’s importance to Samoa, including the need to maintain Samoa’s environmental heritage as a “green, clean and healthy island” (Leo 2014). Typically tourism and cultural heritage are often closely linked, therefore the tourism industry could be an important conduit for digitally crafted products and artefacts that create compelling narratives and a greater awareness of the issue.

Design Research

The field research in Samoa revealed a range of potential collaborators and applications that were collated on a matrix. It includes stakeholders such as tourism and government agencies, educational organisations, art & craft communities, the building industry, or agriculture and fisheries; with applications ranging from functional implements and spare parts, through to souvenirs, craft objects or educational projects.

In this respect the field research provided the context for the subsequent design research carried out in New Zealand. The goal of the design research was to give tangible physical form to two speculative case studies; one symbolic and the other more practical.

3D Printed Turtle Skull gift

The turtle occupies a special place in Samoan culture reflected in its name I’a sa (sacred fish), but its habitat is severely threatened by ocean borne plastic waste (Teuten et al. 2007). “Swimming with Turtles” is a conservation pool and one of Samoa’s successful tourist attractions where visitors interact with them in their natural

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habitat. In the spirit of mea alofa a 3D printed skull would be gifted to visitors as a reminder, not only of the experience but also of the plight of these animals.

Handgrip for a taro peeler (asi)

The asi is a household tool used to scrape the outer skin off the taro root. Originally made from coconut shells, the traditional version has been discarded in favour of a more convenient alternative – the end of a tin can – most commonly mackerel cans. The concept of “parts on demand” could offer more comfort and safety to this otherwise improvised implement.

Laboratory

Figure 4: Laboratory setup. FilaBot Original and FilaBot Reclaimer. (image by Lionel Taito-Matamua)

A low cost laboratory was set up to test recycling waste material and to transform it into 3D printable filament. A Filabot Reclaimer®, comprising of a chainsaw chain linked to a manual crank, was used to grind plastic materials into small particles (about 1 cm x 1 cm), which were then fed into a Filabot Original® extruder to produce filament for 3D printing. The laboratory facilitated an iterative and creative process of making, analysing and remaking in response to technical constraints and opportunities as well as the cultural context.

Materials

HDPE (high-density polyethylene) and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) were selected as our main materials for experimentation as they represent the largest constituent in the waste stream, based on the statistics gathered from PR. Additionally, ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) and PVA (polyvinyl alcohol; water soluble polymer) were trialled using new resins. Combined, they are the most common plastic materials in terms of both production and disposal in the world. (PlasticsEurope 2015) White milk bottles (HDPE) and clear to translucent beverage bottles (PET) were locally collected,

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washed and dried. An ABS resin and a modified PVA resin (from Adept) in pellet form were used without further treatment. A blend of HDPE and ABS colour masterbatches (CMB from BASF) was also tested as proactive simulation of likely real-world situations such as use of multiple resins in a single instrument without sufficient purging. This also included a wood filled polymer filament used to simulate a potential filament made with filler from the coconut palm.

Extrusion

Three of the five materials, including HDPE and HDPE + ABS CMB, were extruded successfully (Table 2). The ABS moiety required extrusion at a higher temperature, however, it improved the average extrusion rate of the blend which measured 340 mm per minute, compared to 290 mpm for HDPE only. On the contrary, PET was difficult to extrude, and the melt formed isolated blobs rather than a uniform strand. It is thought that the PET resins used for bottle production were for injection moulding and did not provide properties needed for extrusion, melt viscosity in particular. PVA was almost impossible to extrude and caused clogging in the extruder because of its excessively low melt viscosity.

Table 2: Extrusion of various materials

Material Extrusion Temperature (°C) Overall Quality

HDPE (milk bottles) 135-185 Good

HDPE + ABS CMB 170-192 Good

PET (bottles) 200-260 Poor

PVA (new, pellet) 200 Very poor

ABS (new, pellet) 170-190 Very good

Production

Turtle skulls held in the collections at Te Papa, the National Museum of New Zealand, were scanned using an Apex® 3D scanner to form a 3D digital mesh. Solidworks® and a parametric modelling application were used to process the mesh and convert it to STL (stereolithography) file format for 3D printing. An UP Mini® 3D printer with added temperature controls and modified nozzles was used to create physical models with improved quality. We expect that the techniques and equipment stated here may be substituted with more user-friendly methods such as smartphone-based apps and open source tools.

Post Production

The resulting prints were treated to post production processes such as sanding and colouring using dyes, inks and stains. Traditional crafts such as tapa cloth printing provided inspiration for these post production processes and raised the possibility of combining traditional inks with 3D prints – either as a surface treatment post production or introduced as a colourant during the extrusion of filament.

Results and Discussion

The turtle skull, digitally scanned and replicated in reclaimed plastic, embodies a narrative; that this replica is made from the very material that is putting the turtle at risk. The vessel that holds the printed skull references the fale. It lends a ceremonial

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character to the gift and a sacred quality to its contents. The gift serves a symbolic and tangible reminder of the issue. In accepting it, the visitor becomes entwined in fa’a Samoa and comes to play a personal part in disrupting the flow of plastic waste.

Figure 5: Digitally scanned turtle skull and shell presented on a 3D printed container (image by Lionel Taito-Matamua)

The handgrip for the asi is printed from wood-filled polymer – raising the possibility of combining two materials readily at hand, waste from the coconut palm and recycled plastic – in a “tree of life” mentality. The small stand serves as a platform for scraping the taro or a plinth for storing the handgrip. It references the formal qualities of traditional utensils such as adzes, food pounders and kava bowls and elevates the status of the handgrip beyond disposability to that of an implement that will be kept and valued, and possibly even worthy of mea alofa.

Figure 6: Asi handgrip design iterations and form experiments. (image by Faitasi Talamaivao)

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Figure 7: Asi handgrip and stands made with different finishes. (L) Sanded and clear varnished, (M) Wood stained, (R) Clear ABS Plastic dyed. All finished with a waxed cord lashing. (image by Lionel Taito-Matamua)

Figure 8: CAD designed handgrip which holds the Asi (used to peel taros). (image (R) by Ali’inu’u Jansen)

Both case studies demonstrate that, far from being a constraint, the low resolution of the UP printer can result in a surface qualities not unlike the irregularities found in traditional craft such as carving. Similarly, the configuration of the support material inherent in the printing process is at times reminiscent of the patterns and structures that are also found in traditional weaving. This suggests the real possibility of maintaining an aesthetic integrity or continuity between traditional craft and digital craft.

Conclusion

These case studies represent only two conceivable scenarios of making in response to our design proposition. However, in presenting these speculative scenarios (Dunne, A, Raby, F 2013) it can be expected that many more will follow, particularly when the concept is opened up to a wider audience. To achieve this we envision a constellation of localised but interconnected craft communities, school groups and small scale manufacturers utilising waste plastic as a newfound resource and adding value in the form of skill, knowledge and cultural content via online databases and exchange networks that are consistent with Fa’a Samoa and open-source sharing. Initial responses to this proposition from stakeholders in Samoa were very encouraging and warrant further research and field-testing (ongoing) with a view to implementation.

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References

Anae, Misatauveve Melani. 2014. “Samoans - History and migration.” Te Ara - the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, October 8, 2014. http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/samoans/page-3.

Baechler, Christian, DeVuono, Matthew, Pearce, Joshua M. (2013) "Distributed recycling of waste polymer into RepRap feedstock", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 19 Iss: 2, pp.118 – 125 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13552541311302978

Betham, Sr Emanuela. 2008. “Aspects of Samoan Indigenous Spirituality and Christian Spirituality and Spiritual Direction.” Research Project, Spiritual Growth Ministries.

Deloitte Center for the Edge, and Maker Media. 2014. Impact of the Maker Movement. London: Deloitte.

Dunne, Anthony, Raby, Fiona 2013 “Speculative Everything : Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming” Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press.

Eriksen, Marcus, Lebreton, Laurent C. M., Carson, Henry S., Thiel, Martin, Moore, Charles J., Borerro, Jose C., Galgani, Francois, Ryan, Peter G., and Julia Reisser. 2014. "Plastic Pollution in the World’s Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighting over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea." PLoS ONE 9(12):e111913. Accessed February 25, 2015. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111913.

Faleolo, Moses. 2013. "Authentication in Social Work Education: The Balancing Act." In Social Work Education: Voices from the Asia Pacific, edited by Carolyn Noble, Mark Henrickson, and In Young Han, 105-132. Sydney: Sydney University Press.

Fana'afi, Aiono. 1986. "Western Samoa: The Sacred Covenant." In Land Rights of Pacific Women, 103-109. Suva: Institute of Pacific Studies of the University of the South Pacific.

Fisher, Maxe, Fraser, Simon, Miller, Tim, Stevens, Ross, Tinnin, Jerad, and Annelies Zwaan. 2012. “Digital Craft in Digital Space: a Paradigm Shift in the Making” DeSForM, Wellington, New Zealand, April 18-20.

Haynes, David. Interview by Lionel Taito-Matamua. September 16, 2014, Samoan Government Interview, transcript.

Jambeck, Jenna R., Geyer, Roland, Wilcox, Chris, Siegler, Theodore R., Perryman, Miriam, Andrady, Anthony, Narayan, Ramani, and Kara Lavender Law. 2015. "Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the Ocean." Science 347:768-71.

Kreiger, Megan A., Mulder, Meredith L., Glover, Alexandra G., and Joshua M. Pearce. 2014. "Life Cycle Analysis of Distributed Recycling of Post-Consumer High Density Polyethylene for 3D Printing Filament." Journal of Cleaner Production 70:90-96.

Krippendorff, Klaus. 2008. "The Diversity of Meanings of Everyday Artefacts and Human-Centred Design." Paper presented at the Design and semantics of form and movement (DeSForM), Offenbach am Main, Germany, November 6-7.

Lee, Henry Chou. Pacific Recycles Ltd. Interview by Lionel Taito-Matamua. September 17, 2014. Apia Samoa, transcript.

Leo, Agafili Shem. Interview by Lionel Taito-Matamua. September 15, 2014. Samoan Government Interview, transcript.

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Lipson, Hod, Kurman,Melba. 2013 “Fabricated : the new world of 3D printing” Indianapolis, Indiana : John Wiley & Sons

Manyika, James, Chui, Michael, Bughin, Jacques, Dobbs, Richard, Bisson, Peter, and Alex Marrs. 2013. Disruptive Technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy. New York: McKinsey Global Institute.

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 2013. "Samoa." Last modified December 9. http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Countries/Pacific/Samoa.php

Penaia, Suluimalo Amataga. 2014. "Better waste practices to showcase Samoa as a green, clean and healthy island” SPREP, July 7. http://www.sprep.org/waste-management-pollution-control/better-waste-practices-to-showcase-samoa-as-a-green-clean-and-healthy-island

PlasticsEurope. 2015. Plastics - the Facts. Brussels: PlasticsEurope.

Schoeffel, Penelope. 1999. "Samoan Exchange and 'Fine Mats': An Historical Reconsideration." The Journal of the Polynesian Society 108:117-48.

Shomura, Richard S., and Howard O. Yoshida, edit. 1984. Proceedings of the Workshop on the Fate and Impact of Marine Debris. Honolulu, Hawaii.

Sio, Silafau Ioane. 2014. “Recycled Products an Opportunity for Samoa, Says Businessman.” Samoa Observer, August 21.

Sun, Angela. Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Film. Produced by Tanya Leal Soto. 2014. Los Angeles: Virgil Films, 2014, DVD.

Taule'alo, Vanya. (Vanya Taule'alo Art Gallery Apia) Interview by Lionel Taito-Matamua. 2014. September 11, 2014. Renewing materials interview, transcript.

Teuten, Emma L., Rowland, Steven J., Galloway, Tamara S., and Richard C. Thompson. 2007. "Potential for Plastics to Transport." Environmental Science & Technology 41:7759-64.

Walker, Stuart. 2014. Designing Sustainability: Making Radical Changes in a Material World. Oxon, Abingdon: Routledge.

   

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Unmaking  Waste  2015  Conference  Proceedings  22  –  24  May  2015  Adelaide,  South  Australia  

Gaining People’s Insights and Experiences: Developing Sustainable Design Considerations for Small Household Appliances

Dilruba OĞUR, Yekta BAKIRLIOĞLU, Çağla DOĞAN, and Senem TURHAN

Middle East Technical University, Turkey

Product design for sustainability, generative research

Small household appliances as an expanding product category involves wide-ranging and ever-increasing products, and their acceptance grows incrementally in domestic environments. Yet, sustainable design considerations for this product group have not emerged from the perspective of users involving their use and post-use patterns. Consequently, this paper focuses on developing these considerations in the areas of effective use of resources (i.e. electricity and water), and product maintenance and repair based on people’s everyday experiences, needs and preferences.

As a part of a long-term design research, the study presented in this paper includes the findings from seven exploratory Generative Focus Group (GFG) sessions, on five diverse product types (i.e. electric coffee makers, electric tea makers, contact grills, vacuum cleaners, and hand blenders/choppers) conducted with 30 users in total. The GFG is a generative and participatory research method which incorporates two diverse and complementary tools which are timelines (i.e. individual and inclusive) to get information about the use phases of a selected product, and product diagrams to identify issues about product maintenance and repair in relation to product parts. The GFG sessions were analysed, and the findings and insights from these sessions were interpreted based on the evolving sustainability considerations (e.g. accessibility of product parts for cleaning, visibility of resource consumption, ease of dismantling product parts, etc.) for small household appliances on the selected product types. The exploratory GFG sessions have helped the research team focus on the particulars of these product types in line with the sustainability considerations through understanding people’s awareness and opinions on the research topics, and gaining their insights on use and post-use experiences.

Keywords: Generative research; Sustainable design considerations; Household appliances; Effective use of resources; Product maintenance and repair; Product design

   

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Introduction

Nature has been struggling to sustain our highly consumptive everyday life and absorb the consequences of these intensive production and consumption patterns. In current linear system, products are considered, designed and produced with shorter lifespans that leads to rapid disposal of products and increase in waste and resource use. Within the area of product design, in order to prolong product lifespan and reduce resource consumption, sustainable development has fostered various perspectives and considerations over the past few decades. These approaches include design for re-use, repair and upgrade tailored to local needs and preferences (Walker 2011, Doğan and Walker 2008, Thackara 2005) and sustainable behavior change that encourages effective and responsible use behaviors (Lockton 2013, Fuad-Luke 2009, Lilley 2007). Even though these approaches provide a basis for a transition towards sustainable product design, it is important to explore the implications of them for different product types through involving users into this process for a detailed understanding of their insights, needs and expectations.

Considering the main sustainability approaches, the research project that will be discussed in this paper aims to develop product-specific considerations with a particular focus on product maintenance and repair, and effective use of resources through a comprehensive understanding of the users’ everyday experiences, needs and preferences with small household appliances.

Methodology

User’s latent knowledge, needs and preferences are difficult to gather from what they say, since those may be slightly more difficult to express verbally. In research studies that explore the behaviors and experiences of users, generative research techniques offer opportunities through probing into the users’ tacit knowledge and insights and revealing their actual needs and preferences (Sleesvijk Visser et al. 2005). Users’ direct involvement into the research process contributes to the depth of knowledge that can be acquired through it.

In this regard, within the context of this study, the Generative Focus Group (GFG) as a data gathering method has been developed and seven GFG sessions were conducted for a comprehensive understanding of the participants’ use experiences with five product cases (i.e. electric tea makers, coffee makers, contact grills, hand blenders/choppers and vacuum cleaners). In this paper, the findings and conclusions from these GFG sessions will be presented with respect to the sustainability considerations that have emerged throughout this study, and are relevant to the research topics.

The GFG differs from a focus group as it utilizes a combination of projective generative tools and techniques to understand use experiences, and to probe into participants’ insights on a particular topic. The generative tools used in GFG are demonstrated in Figure 1 and explained below:

1. Individual Timeline: A user diary aiming to gain a complete record of user behaviour and experiences in the use context, filled in by participants prior to the session.

2. Inclusive Timeline: A timeline to aid the participants in organizing and categorizing their experiences during the sessions, created according to the mutual and differing use phases indicated in individual timelines.

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3. Experience Cards: Transcription of the use experiences on individual timelines, printed out in different colours for each participant, used to help the participants recall their use experiences.

4. Resource Icons: Two kinds of small labels for electricity and water, used for tagging experiences that consume excessive and/or unnecessary water and/or electricity.

5. Product Diagrams: Diagrams showing the parts of the products, used for marking down problematic parts with regards to maintenance and repair.

Figure 1: Generative tools used in GFG sessions: (from left to right) individual timeline, inclusive timeline, experience cards and resource icons, product diagram

The GFG sessions consist of three steps: (1) positive and negative experiences, (2) effective use of resources, and (3) product maintenance and repair. Prior to the sessions, the inclusive timeline is prepared based on the received individual timelines, and the information on the individual timelines are transferred to color-coded experience cards. In the first step (i.e. positive and negative experiences), the participants place their experience cards under the relevant use phases on the inclusive timeline, and then discuss each other’s experiences. In the next step, using the resource icons, the participants tag the experiences that they think consume resources intensively or unnecessarily, and discuss the reasons why they think so. In the final step, the participants mark down the product parts they find problematic about product maintenance and repair on the product diagrams and share their experiences and insights on them (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Steps for GFG sessions and the generative tools used

In this study, seven GFG sessions were conducted with three to five participants for each product category. Availability sampling was used for the recruitment of the participants. In total, 30 users participated in the study with varying ages, who had been using the product of inquiry for longer than a year. The distribution of the sessions are as follows:

• 2 sessions for vacuum cleaners (5 + 4 participants)

• 2 sessions for contact grills (5 + 3 participants)

• 1 session for electrical tea makers (4 participants)

• 1 session for Turkish coffee makers (4 participants)

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• 1 session for blenders/choppers (5 participants)

The sessions took about an hour, which is divided as 25-30 minutes for positive and negative experiences, 10-15 minutes for effective use of resources, and 15-20 minutes for product maintenance and repair. The sessions were audio and video recorded, and the outcomes of the sessions were photographed in high resolution for analysis.

The GFG sessions were analysed using content analysis, in two steps: (1) sustainability considerations for effective use of resources, product maintenance and repair were derived from the data, and (2) these considerations were related to the product parts. The aim was to explore varying problem areas and sustainability considerations for different product types and categories, rather than identifying the common problems and considerations among them.

Findings from product cases

Upon the analysis of the data, 18 considerations regarding product maintenance, 9 considerations for product repair and 11 considerations about resource consumption have been identified. Some considerations can easily be measured (e.g. cleanliness, durability, energy loss, etc.), however the aim was to find out the users’ perception regarding these issues rather than providing quantitative data as proof. Hence, it should be noted that these considerations reflect how users perceive these issues and how they act upon this perception during product use and post-use. The sustainability considerations for small household appliances derived from the GFG sessions and their distribution among product cases are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Sustainability considerations derived from the analysis of the GFG sessions

Sustainability Considerations

Electric Tea Maker

Blender/ Chopper

Turkish Coffee Maker

Contact Grill

Vacuum Cleaner

MA

INTE

NA

NC

E

1 Sense of durability • • • • •

2 Accessibility of product parts • • •

3 Ease of cleaning outside the product • • • •

4 Compatibility with dishwashers • • •

5 Ease of cleaning inside the product • • • • •

6 Maintenance of complex product structures • • •

7 User safety during maintenance • • •

8 Effective operation of product • • •

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9 Visibility of product parts •

10 Durability of product parts • • •

11 Ease of disassembling product parts • • •

12 Visibility of maintenance schedule •

13 Perception of safety •

14 Number of parts to maintain •

15 Perception of cleanliness •

16 Maintenance of fragile/electronic parts • •

17 Cleaning for storage •

18 Keeping product parts clean •

REP

AIR

1 Visibility of product failure •

2 Ease of disassembling product parts •

3 Durability of product parts • • • • •

Table 1 (continued): Sustainability considerations derived from the analysis of the GFG sessions

Sustainability Considerations

Electric Tea Maker

Blender/ Chopper

Turkish Coffee Maker

Contact Grill

Vacuum Cleaner

REP

AIR

4 Preventing unintended use • • •

5 Effective operation of product • •

6 Preventing surface wearing •

7 Adaptability of apparatus • • •

8 Protection of fragile/electronic parts •

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9 Durability of assembly details • • • •

RES

OU

RC

E C

ON

SUM

PTIO

N

1 Scaling of resources • • • • •

2 Visibility of use phases • • • • •

3 Adaptability to user needs • • • • •

4 Reducing energy loss • • •

5 Effective use of water for product maintenance • • • •

6 Enabling effective use of water during use •

7 Visibility of resources • • •

8 Effective use of product capacity • •

9 Preventing unintended use (against resource consumption)

•

10 Preventing/reducing water loss during scaling

•

11 Consecutive use of product • •

The problem areas derived from the GFG sessions are linked to the product parts and the sustainability considerations on product diagrams for each product category. Prominent problem areas and considerations are summarised below for each product category separately.

Electric Tea Makers

In electric tea makers, teapot, kettle, controls and indicators appear to be the most problematic components (Figure 3). In this product case, problem definitions about product maintenance including tea stains inside the teapot, its spout and strainer, calcification in the kettle’s base, narrow opening of the kettle that makes it harder to maintain the product parts are related to the perception of cleanliness and ease of cleaning inside the product. Preventing water exposure to electronic parts (i.e. power connector, cable, controls and indicators) during cleaning is also essential for user safety and increasing product lifespan.

Breaking down or the loss of mechanical properties of the product controls (e.g. temperature adjustment, on/off switch etc.), teapot’s cracking and the failure of the heating element are some of the frequently mentioned problems in electric tea makers.

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Considering these, durability of product parts becomes the prominent consideration for product repair.

Along with these visibility of resources appears to be important regarding effective use of resources in this case. The problem definitions responsible for excessive resource consumption such as the lack of information about the use of energy in diverse use phases (e.g. keeping warm, boiling, etc.) and not being able to see the water level as brewing tea in various models are closely related to this consideration.

Figure 3: Sustainability considerations and their relation to product parts in electric tea makers

Blenders/Choppers

In blenders/choppers the problem areas related to the apparatus (i.e. grater, chopper, blender and mixer), motor, motor mount, container and container lid become prominent (Figure 4). Since this product group involves a variety of apparatus and accessories some of which are fragile and/or containing electronic components, ease of disassembling product parts and compatibility with dishwasher are important for maintaining the product and its components properly and easily.

In the use phase of the blenders/chopper, the power cable can come into contact with hot surfaces and melt, fragile components (e.g. container, stuffer, motor mount, etc.) can get cracked or scratched, and motor may fail due to the continuous operation of the product. Considering these problem areas, durability of product parts appears to be important for product repair. Also adaptability of apparatus is essential to be able to replace the broken components or upgrade them.

Regarding effective use of resources, since the product is operated in relatively shorter durations, overall energy consumption is considered as insignificant. Yet, since removing the dirt and dried food remnants from the sharp edges of the components is

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challenging, effective use of water for product maintenance appears to be important as well.

Figure 4: Sustainability considerations and their relation to product parts in blenders/choppers

Turkish Coffee Makers

In Turkish coffee makers, coffeepot appears to be the most problematic component (Figure 5). The contamination of the vapor and optical sensors results in losing their properties, and leads to overflowing of the coffee, which highlights the importance of ease of cleaning outside the product. Along with this, the calcification of the coffeepot reduces the heat transfer and the duration of operation increases, which is closely related to effective operation of product.

Regarding product repair, heating element breaks down, controls lose their mechanical properties in time, and the inner surface of the coffeepot scratches during stirring all of which are related to durability of product parts.

In this product case, the lack of heat adjustment does not correspond to diverse user preferences (i.e. coffee with milk) and coffee preparation techniques (adaptability to user needs). Along with these, the lack of indicators for water level leads to overfilling the coffepot and uncessary water consumption (scaling of resources).

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Figure 5: Sustainability considerations and their relation to product parts in Turkish coffee makers

Contact Grills

In contact grills, grilling plates and indicators appear to be most problematic components (Figure 6). Regarding the prominent problem areas on product maintenance (e.g. scratching the cover, breaking down the supporting leg, the hinge and controls, etc.), sense of durability seems to be important. It is difficult to remove dried food remains from the grilling plates, and in the cases with undetachable plates this practice becomes even more demanding. Thus, ease of cleaning inside the product becomes important as well.

Relating to product repair, throughout the use phase of contact grills, the grilling plates are often scratched, power cord touches the grilling surface and melts down, and controls and indicators break down. Considering these, durability of product parts becomes prominent.

Leaving the product plugged in, preheating the plates as preparing the food and wasting the residual heat throughout the cooling down process result in intensive and unnecessary resource consumption. Therefore, reducing energy loss is significant for effective use of resources. Also, the lack of height and individual temperature adjustment of heating plates is associated with adaptability to user needs.

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Figure 6: Sustainability considerations and their relation to product parts in contact grills

Vacuum Cleaners

It is revealed that hose, dust bag/dust bucket, nozzle and accessories are most problematic components in vacuum cleaners (Figure 7). The hose, nozzle and tube of the vacuum cleaners are often clogged due to the accumulation of dust and dirt. Since it is difficult to detect the location of the blockage and to reach it, accessibility of product parts becomes essential for product maintenance.

Regarding product repair, the most common problems include surface wearing (i.e. hose), the loss of mechanical properties (i.e. controls), and the breakdown of components (i.e. wheels, handle, cable reel, and assembly details). These show that the durability of product parts is extremely important. Along with this, the clogging of the air passage could affect the product’s lifespan negatively, thus the visibility of product failure appears to be important for product repair.

As the air passage is clogged or the dust bag/dust bucket is filled up, the suction power of the vacuum cleaner is reduced. The lack of any form of feedback related to these problems throughout the use phases may lead to excessive resource consumption. Therefore, the visibility of use phases is important to be able to detect these problems easily for effective use of resources.

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Figure 7: Sustainability considerations and their relation to product parts in vacuum cleaners

Conclusion

The GFG sessions enabled an in-depth understanding of the users’ experiences and insights related to product repair and maintenance, and effective use of resources on the selected product categories, and contributed to the development of sustainability considerations on the research topic.

The findings from the GFG sessions revealed that sense of durability, ease of cleaning inside the product and ease of cleaning outside the product are the most important considerations for all product categories to enable maintaining the product parts properly and to increase the product lifespan. Considering the distribution of the sustainability considerations within these product categories, contact grills and vacuum cleaners seem to be the most problematic ones in product maintenance. Regarding product repair, durability of product parts, durability of assembly details, adaptability of apparatus and preventing unintended use are highlighted. The problem areas related to blender/chopper product case appear to be intense. Visibility of use phases, scaling of resources and adaptability to user needs are considered as important considerations for effective use of resources. Regarding resource use, electric tea maker and contact grill categories appear to be the most problematic ones. The problem areas identified in this study constitute a comprehensive resource of knowledge for design practitioners. Additionally, the developed sustainability considerations can be incorporated into the early stages of design process, in order to devise sustainable design solutions from the very beginning.

Considering the findings from the GFG sessions, several design directions are highlighted as well. Developing design directions for involving users into product

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maintenance phases through enabling easier cleaning practice (e.g. ease of disassembling product parts, visibility of maintenance schedule, etc.) can be effective to extend product lifespan. Communicating the use of resources (i.e. water and energy) on diverse use stages can be promising for all product cases to inform the users about their consumption. Yet, means of encouraging and engaging users to adopt responsible use behaviors will be explored further in future studies.

References

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Lockton, Dan. 2013. “Design with Intent: A Design Pattern Toolkit for Environmental and Social Behaviour Change.” PhD diss., Brunel University School of Engineering and Design.

Sleesvijk Visser, Froukje and Victor Visser. 2005. “Re-using Users: Co-create and Co-evaluate.” Personal and Ubiquitous Computing 10.2:148–52.

Thackara, John. 2005. In the Bubble. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Walker, Stuart. 2011. The Spirit of Design: Objects, Environment, and Meaning. Washington DC: Earthscan.