DESIGN · 2023

Reforming Recycling

Reforming Recycling

A collaborative design project addressing recycling inefficiencies in a Chicago residential building through research, prototyping, and a coordinated system of physical and informational interventions.

A collaborative design project addressing recycling inefficiencies in a Chicago residential building through research, prototyping, and a coordinated system of physical and informational interventions.

3440 N. Lake Shore Drive · Chicago · Winter 2023

01 — THE PROBLEM

3440 N. Lake Shore Drive relied on two repurposed recycling rooms with limited space. Nonrecyclable materials and uncollapsed cardboard frequently consumed available capacity, creating additional work for maintenance staff and reducing residents’ opportunities to recycle.

3440 N. Lake Shore Drive relied on two repurposed recycling rooms with limited space. Nonrecyclable materials and uncollapsed cardboard frequently consumed available capacity, creating additional work for maintenance staff and reducing residents’ opportunities to recycle.

02 — RESEARCH & DIAGNOSIS

The team identified three principal points of friction within the existing recycling process.

COLLECTION
Residents were not provided with a dedicated means of collecting recyclables within their units.

TRANSPORTATION
Carrying recyclables from individual units to the recycling rooms was inconvenient and cumbersome.

EDUCATION
Existing signage emphasized only a small number of prohibited items, leaving uncertainty about what could actually be recycled.

03 — THE SYSTEM

The resulting proposal addressed recycling as a sequence rather than a single disposal event.

RECYCLING RIG — A lightweight, soft-sided recycling container that could expand between approximately 11 and 19 gallons while also carrying flattened cardboard. It was designed to support both in-unit collection and transportation to the recycling room.

CARDBOARD CADDY — A mobile storage structure with differently sized compartments for collapsed cardboard boxes, designed to separate cardboard from standard recycling totes and preserve tote capacity.

INFORMATION GRAPHICS — Updated recycling guidance organized around five categories of accepted materials, accompanied by location-specific reminders placed where common recyclable items were generated.

ENVIRONMENTAL IDENTIFICATION — Recycling-room doors were repainted recycling blue to make the building’s recycling infrastructure more visually identifiable.

04 — PROTOTYPING & DEVELOPMENT

05 — FINAL PROPOSAL

Together, the interventions addressed recycling as a sequence: collecting materials within the home, transporting them through the building, storing them efficiently, and communicating how they should be sorted.

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