Passion Project
Recycle Sanctuary Mobile App Design
Recycle Sanctuary is a 2020 mobile game concept design, that gamifies recycling to combat misinformation and boost engagement in recycling facilities, fostering a unique connection between players and recycling through pet simulation gameplay.
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Recycle Sanctuary transforms recycling into an engaging, personal experience through a pet simulation game. Players nurture animals in virtual natural sanctuaries, earning points by recycling, which can be exchanged for in-game items and accessories, and used to unlock additional Sanctuaries
Role
Product Designer / UX Researcher
Tools
Figma, Procreate
Timeline
1 Month
01
Background
To gain insight into current challenges in recycling, I started off with some literary research. Over the last few decades, the United States has exported recyclables to countries like China and other developing nations. However, the pursuit of greener and more sustainable practices in the US has inadvertently led to pollution in these countries.
Improper recycling practices in the US have directly and indirectly caused issues such as contaminated water, crop death, organized crime, and long-term respiratory illnesses from toxic fumes produced by burning recyclable plastics (Source: State of the Planet / Columbia University Link). Research indicated that nearly 90% of discarded materials could potentially be reclaimed through reuse, recycling and composting efforts (Source: Environment America Link).
And thus, due to these reasons, I believe there is a serious need for a call to action in improving recycling in the US.
02
Survey
I decided to conduct a survey to gauge a large population at once, rather than a targeted group. I wanted to know what people generally thought about recycling as well as understand their individual attitudes towards it.
I garnered 98 responses: most surveyors were ages 18-24, upper-middle socio-economic status, and from Northeastern US. Surveyors indicated learning about recycling through mostly school as well as through their peers.
Key Findings:
Recycling Challenges:
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lack of confidence in recycling systems at hand
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misinformation
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inaccessibility
Despite identifying flaws in existing recycling systems, survey respondents continued to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability by stating their motivations for recycling.
03
Competitive Analysis
I decided to look over existing recycling related apps to understand what was in the current market. I wanted to see what common patterns these apps employed and wanted to learn what already works well.
What does work:
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informational
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engages community with facilities
What doesn't work:
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1-dimensional
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location based restrictions
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difficulty in navigating within apps
04
Goals
After analyzing the research, survey, and existing apps, I decided to focus on 2 specific pain points:
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Misinformation in proper recycling
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Little engagement in recycling
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Goals:
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Increase engagement with recycling centers
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Get more people to think and learn about recycling
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Measuring Success:
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Quantitative data from app
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recycling center interactions (app scans)
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increase in rewards/points (both from pay to play and recycle to play gains)
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05
Exploring Gamification
A research conducted in 2017, it was concluded that employing gamification strategies can effectively increase engagement with complex and challenging topics. Gamification techniques were utilized to encourage citizen participation in recycling, which in turn, increased recycling participation as well as increased increased the amount of waste recycled (Source: Use of Gamification Techniques to Encourage Garbage Recycling Link).
Gamification fostered a lively and competitive atmosphere, which served as a powerful incentive for recycling.
After careful consideration, I determined that a pet simulation game would be the most suitable option. Pet simulation games, also known as "clicker games" or "Skinner Box" games, provide positive reinforcement, offering players a sense of progression and increased responsibility.
One frustration highlighted in the earlier survey was the lack of clarity regarding the impact of recycling efforts. Thus, I chose a pet simulation game in hopes to create a sense of instant gratification by seeing rapid progress and results. The more you recycle, the more points you receive, and the more points you receive, the better you are able to take care of your pets. The aim is to create a personable experience between players and recycling.
06
Sketching + Wireframes
I chose to develop a mobile app due to its accessibility. With smartphones being so common, I wanted to streamline the recycling process and make it convenient for everyone.
Main screens:
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Recycle
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Location
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Sanctuary
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Scan
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Reward
07
Concept Building
"Recycle"
The app consists of 2 main sections: "Recycle", education and information on recycling, and "Sanctuary", the pet simulation gameplay.
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Initially, I aimed to provide detailed recycling instructions for specific items like cardboard, soda cans, food cans, plastic water bottles, and cartons. However, upon researching recycling practices, I realized it's much simpler than I thought.
Having clarity in recycling guidelines from facilities made the process less daunting. For example, disregarding myths about the need to thoroughly clean recyclables simplified the process and made it more achievable.
Drawing inspiration from iRecycle's model, I decided to categorize recyclables into major groups on the initial 'Recycle' page, with general guidelines provided, and offer more detailed explanations within each category (e.g., paper, metals, plastics) for further clarity.
"Sanctuary"
The pet simulation game relies on the player's recycling engagement: the more one recycles, the further they advance in the game.
The game features 5 unique biomes, or "Sanctuaries," where the pets reside. After unlocking each Sanctuary, it is polluted by default. Players' goals should be to clean up their Sanctuaries so that they can invite more animals.
Each Sanctuary has a hidden environmental stat reflecting animals' happiness and health, influenced by cleanliness and environmental items like flora, toys, and accessories.
Animals are introduced randomly to each Sanctuary in 5 rarity levels: Common, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, Endangered, and Critically Endangered. Your objective is to nurture them back to health, and when an animal reaches maximum Happiness and Health, it can be "Released" back into the wild for maximum redeemable points.
Lastly, when choosing a style for the game, I decided on a minimal and approachable design to reflect how I wanted people to feel about recycling.
08
Collaborating with Recycling Centers
Current Workflow to Rewards
QR Code
While collaborating with local recycling centers, the QR code would be an access for players to receive their points after they've recycled. The process of tracking and accessing points would be similar to how centers in certain states work with CRVs (California Refund Value).
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To further incentivize the physical act of recycling, there are certain items, animals, and sanctuaries that you can only unlock or access based on previous recycling activities.
Rewards
Points can be earned by Recycling, In-Game point purchases, and 'Releasing' animals, that can then later be redeemed within the game Shop.
These rewards include: ​
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Unlocking / Adding new sanctuaries
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Cleaning up sanctuaries to be able to put more items and animals
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Purchasing decorative items to put into each sanctuary
​In my first iteration, I wanted to integrate both QR code and Rewards into one feature for user convenience. However, upon reconsideration, I determined that separating the two would be more practical due to concerns regarding privacy and clutter.
At recycling centers, users would need to display their screens or hand over their phones to have QR codes scanned, which raised privacy concerns. Moreover, having a designated QR code page would allow users to have quick access at facilities.
10
Reflection
This project allowed me to merge my passion for sustainability with my love for gaming. My goal was to create a user-friendly game that any age and background could use, serving as an educational tool for proper recycling as well as encourage overall recycling participation. With this project, I want to bring attention to recycling centers, to bring focus in improving their current systems and designs.
Developing this project encouraged me to be more organized and be more thoughtful in the decision-making process. It challenged me to think from the user's perspective rather than my own biases and preconceptions. I had to evaluate whether elements that felt natural to me were genuinely intuitive for my intended audience.
Future areas of improvement / study:
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Conduct user tests and get feedback on how I can better improve the gameplay.
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Further exploration in creating a more competitive leaderboard as well as more interaction between players, such as being able to visit other players' sanctuaries or gift items.
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Explore how I can better create a collaborative effort between recycling centers and their local communities. Additionally, explore how to showcase recycling center information onto the app itself to minimize the step for users to have to personally reach out to centers for specifics on certain recyclables.