Systems Approach to Design- A solution for the waste management issues with carry bags

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17 min readApr 23, 2020

Introduction

Plastic waste management is a serious concern these days. Plastic as a synthetic polymer substitute of natural materials has become an essential aspect of our life. We have witnessed a drastic intensification of plastic in the past few decades. The major plastic use in every household is in the form of carry bags, packets and bottles. Today, the existence of the packaging sector without plastic is difficult. All kinds of goods like food products, fast moving consumer goods, electronic equipment, E-commerce goods etc. prefer plastic as packing material due to its durability, protection, transparency, light weight and Sterilizable and resistance to bacterial and other microbial growth. Plastics are used in shopping and garbage bags, packaging films, wrapping materials, fluid containers, toys, and many other products. With the increase in use of plastic materials for packing goods, the waste generated is also increasing. Same time the carry bags used for carrying things in almost all shops in India are the major villain. People use them without control and scarcely try to reuse, which later become plastic waste. The main concerns with plastic products are the disposal steps. A bigger portion of plastic waste generated in India each year is from package wastes and it is increasing each year. A blanket ban of carry bags is not a solution for the issue. Government is taking this seriously and trying to control the use by banning plastic bags under certain microns and all. Still the issue continues due to many unavoidable reasons.

There are instances where cloth/paper bags are not a substitute for the plastic bags. Also, we are focusing more on reduce and recycle than reuse. Recycled plastics are even more harmful to the environment than the virgin plastic products, due to mixing of coloring agents, stabilizers, flame retardants, and other additives. Encouraging alternatives without managing the existing plastic waste properly will increase environmental burden and difficulty in waste management. So Instead of bringing more alternatives, it requires a better solution. The production of plastic and quantity of plastic waste should be decreased and we need a novel and permanent solution for that.

The process

The whole process can be divided into two stages. First stage is experience strategy and second is experience design. This can be represented in a double diamond model (fig. 1)

The first stage of the design process , that is experience strategy is basically discovering and defining. So it’s all about finding the right question to answer or the right problem to solve. The second stage , that is experience design is developing and delivering. So, it’s about finding the right answer or the right way to solve the problem.

Fig. 1 Double diamond model (https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-solve-problems-applying-a-uxdesign-designthinking-hcd-or-any-design-process-from-scratch-v2-aa16e2dd550b)

According to Don Norman, the human centered design process starts with a good understanding of people and the needs that the design is intended to meet. Phases of this process are either diverging or converging. During a diverging phase, you try to open up as much as possible without limiting yourself, whereas a converging phase focuses on condensing and narrowing your findings or ideas.

Stage 01

Experience strategy
01. Topic Selection
02. Design Research
03. Iceberg Analysis
04. System Mapping

Stage 02

Experience Design
05. Ideation of topic
06. Design Solutions
07. Final Solution
08. Scenarios

STAGE 1: EXPERIENCE STRATEGY

01 Topic selection

The module started with an introduction to a system and how it is different from a collection. Activities were done to analyse a system. Using the learning from that activity we proceeded to the design project 1.

Brainstorming was done on four areas and affinity mapping helped to structure and categorize them. The areas were Movies, Man Made disasters, Bio-mimicry and waste management. After affinity mapping, considering the scope and relevance of the topic, ‘package waste management’ was chosen as the topic.

02 Design research

a. Secondary research

Secondary research was conducted to know about the existing govt. rules and types of carry bags and other plastic packing materials used in different kinds of shops.

Research data

Plastic has multiple uses and the physical and chemical properties lead to commercial success. In particular, the plastic carry bags are the biggest contributors of littered waste and every year, millions of plastic bags end up in the environment vis-a-vis soil, water bodies, water courses, etc and it takes an average of one thousand years to decompose completely. In 2017, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) estimated that around 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste is generated in India per day. However, according to the Plastic Infrastructure Report, 2017, India consumes close to 12.8 million tonnes of plastic per annum, of which, close to 5 million tonnes is rendered as waste every year. Seventy per cent of the plastic waste industry is informal in nature and no action plan for formalising the industry has been pushed in the last two years.

Plastic is preferred in most of the industries because of its following properties;

Safe & Hygienic — Inert and Chemical Resistance
Light Weight & Non-Breakability
Excellent Barrier Properties — Enhancing Shelf-life
Superior Impact Resistance
Sterilizable and resistance to bacterial and other microbial growth.
Pilfer proof packaging
Transparency as well as Opacity
Lower Fuel Consumption and Product Loss during Transportation
And all these… at lesser cost!

It is essential for

Carrying hygroscopic products like sugar / salt / jaggery etc.
Packing confectionery, bakery products
Carrying fish / meat / poultry and other wet food products — no other appropriate alternatives
Carrying commodities during rainy season

Government regulations

Key takeaways from secondary research

Plastic bags which can be reused several times compared to paper bags reduces carbon footprint.
Encouraging alternatives without managing the existing plastic waste properly will increase environmental pollution and difficulty in waste management.
Government restricts use of plastic bags under certain thickness. This is not because they can’t be recycled, but because they won’t generate reasonable returns.
The plastic bags have a lesser adverse impact on the environmental pollution compared to its alternative/s if emissions and energy consumption during manufacture and recycling is considered.
Instead of bringing more alternatives, promoting reuse and recycle of plastic can bring a better impact on the environment.

b. Primary research

The primary research was conducted to know the actual situation. Since it was nationwide locked down due to the threat of Covid-19 pandemic, the primary research had a lot of challenges. Research was conducted in nearby areas only with proper precautions. The research helped to know to what extent the people are aware about the problem and How are the consumers and stakeholders dealing with the issue of plastic waste management. For this interview were conducted with some consumers and shopkeepers. Contextual inquiry on retails shops, a grocery, a meat shop and a curd packing unit helped to identify different existing scenarios.

Research methodologies

Two methods adopted for the primary research were;

Contextual inquiry
Interviews

Contextual Inquiry

Some semi-structured interviews were conducted from the users’ actual workplaces. The users were observed from their workplaces/ houses to understand the context of use and made out how they are dealing with the artifacts. After that interpretations and insights were shared with the user during the interview and the understandings were expanded or corrected. Contextual inquiry was done at places like grocery, meat shop, retail stores, curd and buttermilk company and houses of consumers.

2. Interviews

Interviews were conducted with consumers to know how they are dealing with the plastic waste management issue and to what extent they are concerned about it.

Goals of interview

How do consumers feel about the use of carry bags, the kind of bags they prefer and Where they feel there are challenges and opportunities?
Learn the factors leading to accumulation of carry bags at households, and what are the processes they believe they can use to reduce it?
Understand the trends followed in shopping for households, carrying methods etc.
Find out how retailers are dealing with packaging and where they think there are issues, and how they think things could be improved.

After both the steps the users were categorised into two groups and user profiles were generated. The first group include the stakeholders who are basically the shop owners, shopkeepers etc. The second group includes the consumers.

Key takeaways from primary research

It’s difficult for retailers to get carry bags. Because, according to the latest government order shopkeepers are not allowed to give carry bags under 50 micron thickness which were easily available.
Grocery stores automatically bag and sometimes double-bag purchases without even asking first, and many of these bags are thrown in the trash immediately if not littered.
Both consumers and shopkeepers don’t want themselves taking the responsibility of increase in plastic wastes.
A proper system and knowledge on reuse of plastic bags and bottle is lacking.
Plastic users should be provided with feasible alternatives, which are not costly, won’t increase environmental burden and made aware of these options.
Cloth bags are not common in local shops. Mostly self help organisations produce cloth/paper bags

User Persona

Two user personas were generated based on the Research data.

Findings

Plastic consumption in India is high and it is struggling to dispose its growing quantities of plastic waste.
From our toothbrushes to debit cards, India generates close to 26,000 tonnes of plastic a day.
80% of the plastic produced is used in the packaging sector.
Online retail and food delivery apps are also contributing to the rise in plastic waste.
Very few customers bring carry bags while going shopping.
Plastic carry bags were easily available and convenient.
After the ban, good quality bags are not readily available.
Meat shops still use plastic bags. They hide it from visible areas.
Most of the people dump the bag somewhere after use.
Few people segregate plastic bags properly and use them for other purposes.
People are aware of hazardous effects of burning plastic.
Consumers forget to carry bags while going shopping.
Local shopkeepers use newspapers to pack.

Insights from Research

Alternatives to plastic bags would create additional environmental burden and would also inconvenience common people.
Closing down plastic manufacturing and trading units renders lakhs jobless, so they should be nudged to produce alternatives without much demerits.
Cloth bags won’t always replace plastic bags, especially in meat shops. only dry products can be carried in cloth and paper bags.
Shopkeepers prefer customers bringing the carry bag. Both customers and shopkeepers don’t prefer the accumulation of carry bags with them.
Customers are concerned about carrying the purchased items only after the Purchase. Because all shops provide carry bags.
Most of the shops will be keeping single sized bags. So it doesn’t matter if the purchase is small or big they will get the same sized bags.
Manufacturing units, consumers, waste pickers, recycling units, other stakeholders etc are working as individual entities. A collaboration is lacking.

03 Iceberg analysis

Iceberg model analysis was one system thinking tool used for analyzing the system considered. Under which some events from the topic for design research were analysed and insights from the research and the iceberg model analysis were compared. Using the learning from that activity we proceeded to the next step.

Insights from Iceberg model analysis

Consumers won’t bring carry bags. They either forget or the purchase will be unplanned.
Consumers won’t bother about carrying items until shopping gets over. Since, the bags Government tries to reduce the plastic production by charging them.
Consumers prefer fewer bags when they have to pay for them.
Complete ban is not a proper solution and it is not possible.

04 System mapping

To study the existing system and identify the behavior of the system, a system thinking method was used. In which, the system was approached using the methods of design thinking. Four steps were followed for this.

Step 1 : Purpose

Brainstorming on the system.

Step 2 : Ecology mapping

This helped to visualise the system and identify different contexts. By analysing a common context, needs of the user and the way the system deals with them were identified.

Step 3 : Creating ecosystem

Various elements in the system are analysed and found out how they are connected to each other.

Step 4 : Behaviour of a system

A blueprint of the existing system was made in this step.

Gaps

Closing down plastic manufacturing and trading units will render lakhs jobless.
No proper way of disposal for package wastes of products from online shops.
Consumers lack proper knowledge on plastic waste management
Blanket ban on plastic bags won’t solve the problem.
Though individual waste management systems exist in some places, there is no proper system for this.

STAGE 2: EXPERIENCE DESIGN

05 Ideation of topic

Overall requirements were listed and a competitive analysis was done in this stage. A scenario was taken to find out the requirements in the practical world. Based on that the important goals were identified.

Requirements

A facility to carry purchased goods back home.

Customers need something to carry purchased items.
Shopkeepers used to provide carry bags. But after plastic ban, most of them use newspapers, cloth or paper bags.
Meat/ fish and other wet items can’t be carried in cloth bags.

Reduced use of Plastic

Use of plastic which is not eco-friendly should be reduced.
Govt. banned carry bags under 50 microns and allowed shopkeepers to charge plastic bags.
Usually recycling is promoted more. Reuse is least cared.
Consumers and shopkeepers should be aware of the methods to reuse plastic bags and bottles.
Shopkeepers prefer not to give plastic carry bags frequently.

Customers have to be aware of carrying things before going for purchase itself

Consumers should be notified about the carrying bags before going shopping.
They should be aware about the quantity of items to be purchased and ways to carry them before shopping.
Carry Bags shouldn’t be considered as a use and throw thing.
Consumers who are aware of carrying bags while going for purchase are helpless in case of unexpected purchases.

Need better alternatives before ban

Plastic bag manufacturing and trading units need alternatives. Otherwise closing down will render jobless.
Sudden blanket ban can’t be effective. Proper monitoring is required.
Plastic users need better alternatives.

Competitive analysis

“There is no alternative to plastic so banning is not a solution,” Vimal Kedia, President, PACE

Enter zero waste stores. Going beyond charging for plastic bags or refusing to provide bags at all, zero waste stores have removed all forms of unnecessary waste from their business models. That means no products that come in individual wrappers, encased in cardboard — just a variety of package free loose products.

Scenarios

06 Design solutions

Design Brief

Context

To design a solution which helps consumers and shopkeepers of all locations to reduce the use of plastic in packaging

Need

Since plastic carry bags can’t be avoided completely, should go beyond charging for them or refusing to provide bags at all.

Goal

To create a community of consumers, shop owners, carry bag manufacturers, waste pickers and recycling units where there is a collaboration to reuse carry bags and reduce plastic waste.

07 Final solution

Creating a system

The final solution to the existing problem is the introduction of a platform where all the consumers can collaborate with shopkeepers, manufacturing units, waste pickers, recycling units, and other stakeholders. Manufacturing units will produce high quality carry bags which are specialised for different purposes and can be reused. The system will connect all stores including, malls, small retail shops, stationary stores, grocery shops, vegetable stalls etc. and they will act as distributors of these bags. For example vegetable stalls will be providing good quality bags which are made only for carrying vegetables. These bags which customers get from different collection points (stores) can be returned to any other store according to his/her convenience. The system will be having staff to manage this. They will segregate these bags and return to the shops where they are supposed to be.

The bags which are damaged will be replaced or repaired. Those bags which are used to carry meat fish or any other wet products will be washed and processed properly and delivered to reuse.

Most of the shops will be keeping single sized bags. So it doesn’t matter if the purchase is small or big they will get the same sized bags. But here customers can choose the bag according to their need and they don’t have to keep them. Also there will be delivery services as part of the system, where the customer can go and purchase the things they want and there is no worry about carrying them to home. They can book for delivery services and items purchased will get delivered to their address and no plastic bags will be given to the user. Users can transfer or exchange their bags.

Carry Me

A mobile application which acts as the key to all the services provided by the system. Consumers can become a part of the community by registering and paying a deposit amount. All stakeholders will be part of the community.

Onboarding

Users can register using their email address. A deposit amount should be paid. This is for ensuring that the users return rented bags in time. If they fail to do so, the amount will get deducted from this deposit amount. Users can pay this amount in multiple ways. They can either pay using UPI or Credit/debit card or they can pay the amount at the nearest retail store.

Community

By opening an account in the application, users will become a part of the community. They can get the schedules by different waste pickers, recycling units etc. They can also contact different stakeholders nearby. Users will share helpful tips and tricks to reduce plastic waste with others also. Through the ‘community’ feature of the app, a proper and formal communication is built between users and stakeholders.

Rent a bag

Users can get bags for rent from anywhere they go for purchase. After purchase users can take the bag from the stores and scan the qr code of the bags to get them for rent. The amount will be deducted from the deposit amount if the user fails to return the bag before the due date.

Users can reserve the bag for a short time if they are not near the store and need a particular type of bag or a bag having higher demand. For this, they can select the bag either by mentioning the purpose or directly from the list of bags available.

They can find the stores and users nearby where they can find the selected kind of bags. If they want to get from the other users, they can make a request. If the other user accepts the request, he can give the bags to the ones who requested. If users want the bags from the nearby stores, they can select the store and see the bag with numbers available there. From them, they can choose the bags and reserve them. Those bags will stay reserved for a time mentioned in the app.

Zero waste shopping

Zero waste shops are already existing in some areas. But they should be everywhere since they can do a great job in reducing package wastes.

The application will have a facility to do zero waste effortlessly. The users can find the nearest zero waste shops using the app. Since zero waste shops won’t have packed products, consumers have to take the containers with them for carrying the purchased goods. The app will help the users for this. Users can easily make the list of goods they want to buy. They can do it by clicking on the goods available in various categories. They can also mention the quantities. After doing so the application will suggest the containers users have to carry for that particular shopping. There will be suggestions for bags that can be rented, if the users are not having that kind of containers with them.

Users will get rewards for each zero waste shopping through the app.

Purchase a bag

Users can purchase carry bags from the stores using the app. They can choose any type of bag. The payment can be done using UPI or Credit/debit card or they can pay the amount at the nearest retail store where they collect the bag from. The users can scan their bag at any store while they go shopping and they can earn rewards.

Delivery service

If the users do not want to deal with the carry bags, they can use the delivery service. Some users are strict about offline shopping. They want to see, touch, and feel the actual product before purchase. So they don’t trust e- commerce much. But such consumers also face problems when it comes to the matter of carrying purchased goods back home. This feature is for such users. After their purchase, they can call for delivery service using the app. By scanning the qr code provided by the shopkeeper, they can confirm the location and the items to be delivered. Then the users can enter the delivery address. After completing the payment, they can track their goods also.

Return the bag

Users can return their bag at any shop. Shopkeeper will scan the bag and confirm it. Users can use this option in mobile application to find the nearest stores and to know the procedures and rush hours in the stores.

Rewards

The use of the services is promoted by giving rewards to the users. Rewards can be cash back offers, discounts for shopping, vouchers, movie tickets etc. Users can be ranked based on their waste management activities. Awards can be given to stores to improve their performance. For example, a store that generates the least package waste at the end of year can be awarded as the best eco friendly store.

08 Solution based Scenarios

Conclusion

Plastics in general and plastic bags / carry bags in particular are blamed as the major cause of the Solid Waste problem and mostly carry bags. Actually carry bags are just a medium to carry goods for the consumers. If that issue is dealt in a smarter way the problem of over use of plastic bags can be reduced.

References