ScrapCo

Role

UX/UI Designer

Duration

4 weeks

Team

Independent Project

Tools

Figma

Inspiration

As a part of the Google UX Design Professional Certificate, I worked on designing a mobile app alongside the course.

I chose to work on a problem I had identified.

A few months back, while I was shifting apartments, I had a lot of cardboard boxes lying around. As someone trying to practice sustainable living, I wanted to make sure that the boxes get recycled rather than end up in a landfill. I searched online for local recyclers. The entire process, from arranging transportation to waiting at the recycler’s site, was frustrating and laborious.

It got me thinking. Wouldn't such an experience discourage people from recycling? What can I do to make the experience better?

This incident served as the inspiration for coming up with ScrapCo, a mobile app that offers on-demand doorstep recycling.

Validating the problem

I was curious to find out if other people had similar experiences with recycling. I reached out to a few friends and family members.

I conducted telephone interviews with 5 people ranging from the age of 24-50 years. I made sure that I selected participants who had prior experience with recycling.

I mainly focused my questions on understanding the participants recycling habits, processes they followed and how it made them feel.

I got the following insights from the interviews

There are two main ways for disposing off recyclable scrap-

Selling at a junkyard: The junkyard owners buy the scrap and later recycle or repurpose it.

Problems Faced-

Transportation: Finding a way to transport large amounts of scrap is difficult especially without a vehicle. Public transportation is not suitable for this purpose.

Time consuming

2.Selling it to a Kabadiwala: Kabadiwala refers to a scrap dealer in India who operates in local neighborhoods and collects scrap directly from households.

Problems Faced-

Reliability: There is no fixed schedule for the kabadiwala and hence timings and regularity is an issue.

In both cases, few participants raised concerns over the lack of standardization in determining the price.

Most participants admitted that they did not have the motivation to spend time and effort to visit the scrap yard. They were also reluctant to keep the scrap in their homes until the Kabadiwala arrived. As a result, they ended up throwing away the recyclable scrap.

Having understood that the existing experience could be improved, I moved on to defining the users who will benefit from the solution

The users can be divided into two high level audiences:

Commercial: Small businesses, factories and offices that have large amounts of scrap that needs recycling

Residential: Individuals or families trying to recycle everyday items

I am focusing on a single high-level audience i.e residential.

User Research

In order to gain an understanding of the users relationship with recycling, I sent out a survey with questions that mainly focused on:

Awareness about recycling
Motivation to recycle
Barriers to recycling

I received over 40 responses. I made sure to include participants who had no experience with recycling, so as to understand what discouraged them from trying it out.

The results revealed that most participants were aware of the importance of recycling and was knowledgeable about the materials that are recyclable.

Motivation to recycle was concern for the environment rather than financial incentives.

The main reason for not recycling was lack of efficient services.

I reached the conclusion that if the process is easy and accessible then more people will be motivated to recycle.

Some of the user stories I will be focusing on based on the interviews and survey results are:

As a user, I want to reduce time and effort spent in selling scrap so that I can focus more on other tasks
As a user, I want the option to sell scrap whenever needed, so that I can dispose it off quickly and prevent it from accumulating in my home
As a user, I want the best market rates for the scrap I am selling so that I am fairly compensated

Listing out ideas

After understanding the users I was designing for, I moved on to brainstorming solutions. I let my creativity flow without worrying about constraints

App to find nearby kiosks The user must install and register on the mobile app to receive a unique ID. They then sort the scrap into categories and attach their unique ID to it. They can use the app to locate their nearby kiosks and see the categories of scrap it accepts. They can deposit the scrap into the kiosk and receive payment through the app. Kiosks are open 24/7 but users still have to transport the scrap making it difficult for people with physical disabilities.

The scrap is not weighed in front of the user which reduces transparency.
An app that can schedule scrap pickup User can select the categories of scrap and a convenient date and time slot. The scrap will be picked up from their doorstep and weighed in front of the user. They will receive the payment instantly.

I believe the second solution is better since it is convenient for a wider range of users. Also, unlike the first it ensures transparency which is essential for building trust in the service.

Hence I decided to work on an app that offers on-demand doorstep recycling targeted at residents.

Some of the assumptions I made to build a relevant product were:

ScrapCo is a service app that is owned by a recycling organization.
ScrapCo has partnered with local scrap collectors.
Only a nominal charge will be deducted for the pickup service.
Pickup orders are not taken at wholesale levels.
There is a separate app for the organization to track pickup requests and assign scrap collectors

User Flows

The next step was mapping the actions users would take to raise a pickup request.

User flow for raising a pickup

User flow for explore page

User flow for pricelist

User flow for profile

Wireframes

After this I went ahead with making the low fidelity wireframes to outline the app.

Few of the wireframes

High Fidelity Screens

I proceeded to create the high fidelity screens.

I chose green as the primary color as it is commonly associated with nature and eco friendliness.

Wireflow to raise pickup

High Fidelity Price List

High Fidelity Explore Page

High Fidelity Profile Page

How will we measure the success of the product?

Net Promoter Score (NPS): Collect ratings and reviews post-service to understand customer satisfaction for the service and the product.
Pickup Turnaround Time: Measure the time taken from scheduling a pickup to its completion. If there is a significant difference compared to traditional methods we can say our product is a success.
Accuracy of On-Site Weighing: Measure user trust in product by assessing the feedback on the accuracy of weighing and payment systems.
Retention Rate: Evaluate how often users return to the app and continue using its services