Preventing marine litter in Stockholm  

Challenge: Help the city reduce marine littering
Challenge Giver: Stockholm Vatten och Avfall 
Solution: Interactive and/or visible bins
Concept:  Interactive and attractive bins that will provide an innovative solution against littering and thus, preventing marine waste.
Challenge Area: Sustainable city development

Abstract

In this Openlab master course innovative solutions are created by using design thinking approach in multicultural and multidisciplinary groups. In our “Marine team”, we are students who come from different backgrounds to work together to solve the marine waste problem in Stockholm. Our challenge giver, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall, is responsible for marine waste management, and also, the “end-waste” management. During the project, there was also another municipal organization involved; The Office of Traffic and more specifically the department of urban environment and management, which is actually responsible for the waste management and garbage bins in the public areas in the city. 

During the double-diamond design process, we first looked into the problem by learning about the context and facts related to it and also empathized with our challenge giver and end users to gain more personal and in-detail aspects to the challenge. Then, by using different tools we came up with five different solutions, of which we ended up choosing with both of our challenge givers, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall and the municipal Office of Traffic, two ideas to continue developing on. 

Throughout using the method, tools, by testing and learning, we aimed as a team at creating a game-changing solution on the wicked and complex problem of marine waste. We chose the approach of preventing the waste ending up to the sea in the first place and to do so by developing the concept of garbage bins from the point of view of improving the end user experience and making waste management something positive and even rewarding. We believe that our interactive and attractive bins will provide an innovative solution against littering and thus, preventing marine waste.