"Ground to Green: Brew, Recycle, Repeat!"
EcoBeans is an app that aim to create a circular economy for coffee grounds by proving services for the public to recycle coffee waste and renovate the public community garden as so to create more activities at the sametime.
My Role: UX research and mobile UI design
Tools: Figma/Photoshop/AI
Team: Individual contribution
Timeline: 7 weeks
So, what have I designed?
As a big fan of coffee, I have to have a cup of coffee in the morning. But I realized that significant changes were necessary based on my personal experience that I threw a lot of coffee waste every day. Then I started thinking where do those coffee grounds go? What if I recycle them as fertilizer?
Because I have a background in landscape architecture, I observed that few people use the community gardens in Vancouver. Then, I try to combine these two problems together so as to facilitate people’s lives and create an eco-friendly community.
The Problem
01
The situation of coffee waste is severe. Many people may not be aware of the environmental impact of coffee grounds disposal and may not know that there are more sustainable options available02
The low utilization rate of community gardens fails to provide a decent environment for people
Design Process
White Paper Research
Before approaching design, it was necessary to understand the problems with the current experience with how people deposit coffee grounds and their needs with public community gardens. So I created a bunch of whitepaper research first elaborating on how severe the coffee waste is to the environment and the reasons for the low utilization of the public community gardens. Then, I conducted user interviews to understand the requirements and expectations of the app's users.
Initial Thinking
How Might We Questions
How might we recycle coffee grounds in an eco-friendly way and benefit users simultaneously?
How might we help with public community garden renovation and reduce maintenance expenditure?
How might we design an app to encourage and educate users about the benefits of using coffee grounds as garden fertilizer?
Formulate Clear Objectives:
Understand the current coffee ground disposal practices and challenges among users.
Identify the desired features and functionalities that users expect from an app for coffee ground disposal.
Evaluate users' awareness and knowledge about the benefits of using coffee grounds as garden fertilizer.
Assess users' needs for information and resources related to recycling or composting coffee grounds.
Explore opportunities for community engagement and collaboration in coffee ground disposal through the app.
Coffee Waste in Canada
Ways of coffee disposal
Useful ingredients in coffee grounds
Coffee contains a lot of health-benefiting compounds such as anti-oxidants and fatty acids. When we brew coffee, we use only 1% of these compounds. When we dispose of coffee grounds into trash, we throw out 99% of those good benefits.
Conclusion:
The production and disposal way of coffee grounds has a significant harmful impact on the environment, and Canada has a large population of coffee enthusiasts.
Coffee waste can be reused in many fields, especially fertilizer
Main reasons people fail to dispose of coffee waste in an eco-friendly way are lack of awareness and no related facilities
Coffee Ground
Initially, I only had a rough idea of coffee waste recycling, I haven’t yet determined which issues my app can solve and which direction I should focus on. So the coffee ground research is aiming to find out:
Dig out the potential circular economy behind coffee waste
The urgency of coffee ground recycling
Why and how do people dispose of coffee waste?
Problems of the community garden
Community Garden
Through my research on coffee grounds, I discovered the significant worth of coffee waste like fertilizer. Then I started thinking about the possibility of combining coffee waste with the community garden.
As an international student, I've noticed that many of us struggle to fit in with the current society, particularly those who are introverted. I aim to provide more chances for individuals to socialize and engage in various events. By incorporating recycled coffee grounds, we can also lessen maintenance expenses and minimize environmental pollution.
Number of community gardens in Vancouver
Conclusion:
Coffee waste can minimize the expense of fertilizer
Vancouver has a great number of community gardens but fails to use and maintain them appropriately
Community gardens are the ideal places for users to socialize both in mentally and physically
User Interview/Primary Research
After deciding the direction and problems that can be addressed, next step I want to hear firsthand my target audience’s experiences to cater the final product to their needs.
User Interview-Coffee enthusiasts
Target Users
Age range: 25-35 & 35-45
Number: 8
Educational level: Above the high school
Goals：
1. Find out the needs of coffee enthusiasts
2. If they are interested in coffee ground disposal
3. How much do they care about eco-friendly
4. The need for new friends
Questions:
How often do you drink coffee?
More than 3 cups every day
At least one cup every day
Several times a week
Rarely
What is the ratio of making coffee at home and going to a cafe respectively
Mainly make coffee at home
Prefer to go to the cafes
Half half
What type of coffee do you usually drink
brewed
espresso
instant
Others
How do you currently dispose of your coffee grounds?
Are you aware that coffee grounds can be used as garden fertilizer?
Have you ever used coffee grounds in your garden or for plant fertilization?
Are you concerned about the environmental impact of coffee ground disposal?
Would you be interested in using a mobile app that helps you dispose of coffee grounds in an environmentally friendly way?
How active are you to go to the public garden every week?
Do you have a garden or plants at home?
What type of plants do you typically grow?
Do you currently use any other fertilizers for your garden or plants?
Would you be interested in receiving notifications or reminders about coffee ground disposal and gardening tips?
How much do you want to make new friends?
What features would you like to see in an app focused on coffee ground disposal for garden fertilization?
map, care about how far is it, drop off in the cafes
Is there anything else you would like to share or suggest regarding coffee ground disposal or gardening?
Link: https://forms.gle/Z9Ev5xdXdoibbp3V8
Result
90% of people have no idea about the value of coffee waste, and just throw them in the sink or trash bin
More than 70% of participants make coffee at home
40% of people don’t care about how coffee waste affects the environment or related issues
10% try to use coffee waste for planting
More than 60% of people just water their plants, the rest of them buy fertilizer in the store
95% of participants are willing to learn more about coffee waste recycling knowledge
70% of interviewees want to make new friends.
90% of people surveyed are willing to donate coffee waste for benefits but don't want to go out of their way to drop it off.
Brainstorm
Theme & Insights
Theme 1: Coffee ground recycling
People donate their coffee waste to our cooperative cafes or drop off locations
Theme 2: cheaper coffee and a virtual garden
As an incentive, users who donate their coffee waste can get credits to exchange for a cheaper coffee. And their points can be visualized in an entertaining way in the virtual garden.
Theme 3: Community garden
The disposal of coffee waste can be used for public gardens which is an effective way to reduce the expense of garden fertilization and encourage more people to join in gardening.
Theme 4： Making friends
The public community garden can also provide a place for people to make friends by planting together or conducting events
Target Users
Persona
User Journey
Opportunities
Add a learning section to educate people who have no knowledge of coffee ground usage
Initiative design: prioritize functions of the map and paying
Map function mainly for users to find drop-off locations, collaborative cafes, and community gardens
Sorting and filter function to reduce searching time
Allow users to share their feelings and communicate
Statement
How can I design an app that benefits users while decreasing the waste of coffee grounds and reusing the community gardens in Vancouver?
Design Stage
Goals
Environmental friendly - Reduce the pollution of coffee grounds make and recycle them
Create a new eco-friendly profit business model
Reuse current public grey spaces, Create a better cityscape, and provide more opportunities for people to social and make friends
Users can participate in environmental protection and enjoy nature and release stress simultaneously
Business Model
4 main flows:
Map: search drop-off locations, collaborative cafes, and community gardens
My Garden: engage in or launch activities
My account: personal information, privacy, and setting
Learn: educational coffee waste or planting tips
