Class Sustainable Studies
Year Spring 2021
Service Design
Project
For the final project of my Sustainable Systems class during my first year at Parsons, we had to collaborate with a company or a person to solve a real-world problem utilizing systems and design thinking. Our job was to create a sustainable design solution for something unsustainable. We had to work with a real "user" to create a product that serves a specific need of the user while addressing a larger unsustainable issue.
Project Type Service Design | Sustainable Design
A collaborative design project with my grandmother to solve one of her garden problems
Challenge
My Grandmother makes compost in her garden, as compost is a good additive to the soil to help plants grow. In the back of her garden, she has a big hole in which she mixes dry leaves and organic waste.
While browsing Facebook, she “learned” that some plastics are biodegradable. She then started adding plastics to the organic waste mix. Later, while digging out, what was supposed to be good compost, we realized the plastic didn’t decompose. She needed something to efficiently separate the compost from the plastic.
Outcome
To efficiently separate the compost from the plastic, we built a tool using old scraps we gathered from her home. By using an old drawer, a metal mesh, and some other tools, we built a sifter. We added the handle of another drawer to make it easier to hold and use our tool. The sifter helps sift through the mixture, allowing the compost to fall through and be usable as an additive to the garden’s soil while retaining the plastic for proper disposal.
