3. Introduction
What is e-cycle?
E-cycle is a service that facilitates collection of e-waste from individuals and takes it to a responsible recycler.
E-cycle collects e-waste from the homes of customers who want to dispose off their e-waste and sends this
e-waste to recycling agencies. In return, the customers get rewarded for giving away their e-waste.
E-cycle is not a stand-alone service but it is based on a public-private partnership model where is partners
with public bodies such as the local municipalities and public utilities.
Consumer
Facilitates movement of e-waste
Recycler
from consumers (customers of e-cycle)
to recyclers
Consumer
Consumer
4. Background
The amount of electronic products discarded globally has skyrocketed recently, with 20-50 million
tons generated every year. If such a huge figure is hard to imagine, think of it like this - if the
estimated amount of e-waste generated every year would be put into containers on a train it would
go once around the world!
- Greenpeace
What is e-waste?
E-Waste for short - or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) - is the term used to describe old,
end-of-life or discarded appliances using electricity. It includes computers, consumer electronics, fridges etc
which have been disposed of by their original users.
E-waste is now the fastest growing component of the municipal solid waste stream because people are
upgrading their mobile phones, computers, televisions, audio equipment and printers more frequently than
ever before. Mobile phones and computers are causing the biggest problem because they are replaced
most often.
Where does e-waste go?
Many old electronic goods gather dust in storage due to the uncertainty on how to manage these products.
While in storage they are waiting to be reused, recycled or thrown away.
When thrown away, they end up in landfills or incinerators or in some cases are even dumped in Asian
countries.
5. Rationale and SigniïŹcance
Why should you worry about e-waste?
In India, most of the e-waste is generated in metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore etc.
Most of the waste ends up with the traditional unorganised sector -- waste pickers, local raddiwallas and
kabadiwallas.
E-waste, if not properly managed can be extremely hazardous to our health and environment.
E-WASTE in LANDFILLS
Land filling is one of the most widely used methods of e-waste disposal. When the landfills leach, the
leachate often contains heavy metals and other toxic substances that are found in e-waste. These toxic
materials can contaminate ground and water resources.
E-waste account for almost 40% of lead in landfills.
E-WASTE and HEALTH
Lead, cadmium, mercury, beryllium and flame retardants are just some of the toxic materials that
contaminate the environment. Thatâs everything from computers to televisions to printers to cell phones.
Researchers found that electronic waste can cause inflammation and oxidative stress, which are conditions
that can later lead to cardiovascular disease, DNA damage and cancer.
E-WASTE and the NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Throwing away metal components like copper, gold, silver and palladium leads to needless mining for new
materials.
In India, almost all of the e-waste goes straight into landfills since the concept of segregation at
source is almost absent. In the wake of this situation we found the need to intervene for a better
e-waste management system.
6. Rationale and SigniïŹcance
E-Waste Policy for India
In the backdrop of resurgent growth of the Indian economy and greater reliance on electronic hardware for
household, industrial and office automation, commitment to eco-responsibility was seen as a sine qua non
for the society, economy and the environment.
There was unanimity that electronic waste containing substances like lead, cadmium, mercury, polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) has immense potential to cause enormous harm to human health and environment, if not
disposed properly since the extant prescriptions for its disposal and safeguard were inadequate. Thus, the
imperative need for early formulation of a holistic E-waste legislation which will eventually lead to enabling
policy.
Conscious of the prevalent uncertainties regarding âwhen, where, and howâ to dispose hazardous, harmful
E-waste, the role of informal sector in the process it emphasized on the necessity of introducing a
comprehensive framework early
7. Methodology
User Types
Based on our understanding of the subject we identified 4 segments of actors in the e-waste chain. These
four types would be referred to as our user-types.
They are:
Owners
Owners of old or unused electronic products.
Scrap Dealers
Scrap Dealers are those who collect the scrap locally. Better known as kabbadiwalas in the local context.
Collection Agencies
These are the bodies to whom the e-waste will be sent to by the scrap dealers in some cases directly by
owners.
Recyclers
These are those who recycle and reuse the received e-waste primarily from collection agencies and scrap
dealers and also from owners.
From these 4 segments of people we can classify primary, secondary and tertiary actors.
Primary: Owners and scrap dealers
Secondary: Collection agencies
Tertiary: Recyclers
Owners Scrap Dealers Collection agencies Recyclers
PRIMARY SECONDARY TERTIARY
8. Methodology
The next step we followed was conduct informal user interviews with the users we identified who fell under
these 4 categories.
We prepared a questionnaire and recorded each of their conversations/ feedback.
1. What are the gadgets you use?
2. How often do you buy?
3. How do you prefer to buy your new ones?
4. Do you look for exchange offers?
5. Do you buy second-hand gadgets as well?
6. How long do you generally use a product?
7. Which is the product that youâve been using for the longest time? How long?
8. What makes you buy a new product?
9. What happens to the old ones? How do you handle the old products?
10. Do you know what is e-waste?
11. What is your understanding of e-waste?
12. Are you aware of government and other e-waste collection agencies?
13. Have you encountered public e-waste collection spaces?
14. If you were to donate your e-waste, what would motivate you to do so?
14b. Are you expecting in return for your electronic product?
15. Have you disposed of e-waste in your domestic garbage bin?
16. What do you think happens to your e-waste once you throw it?
17. What kind items do you put in your bin?
18. Are you aware the hazards caused by e-waste?
19. What is your preferred mode of shopping?
20. What is it that you buy or do not buy online? Why?
9. Methodology
Personas
Age Location
28 Bangalore Tech-savvy
Occupation
Education professional
Description
Works on a computer all day
Gadgets used
Laptop, desktop, mobile phone, camera, ipod
I have so much stuff lying at home, I wish I knew whom to give it to or what to
do with it
I don't buy a lot of gadgets but when I buy a new product it is because I find a newer product that
does 'cooler' stuff than my existing gadget. It's rarely because the old one has become defunct.
So all these old stuff lie around the place and I feel terrible about it. I feel terrible because it's lying
around uselessly an I think about the environmental hazards it causes.
It's just there, just occupying space.
I have recycled them, given them away in exchange drives where I just get a tiny fraction of what I
paid for it but it doesn't make me feel bad since it would just be a piece of junk otherwise.
I have come across a couple of donation drives and I have dropped my mobile phone into the recep-
tacles.
I have never come across them much, I've heard about it from my friends though but the logistics
involved with shipping the product just deters me from doing it.
I wouldn't call it waste, it's just something that is useless to me.
Not always I buy the products, they come free with other products. If I find someone to give it to I
give it away but most free products are of inferior quality or design so I can't give it away.
It just sits. I'm waiting for a systematic way to get rid of it.
It has to be online, that is the easiest.
10. Methodology
Personas
Age Location
27 Bangalore Tech-savvy
Occupation
IT head, Educational Institute
Description
Deals with a lot of technology gadgets, hardware
Gadgets used
2 Laptops, many desktops, 2 mobile phones, 2 cameras
I am very emotional to my things I will not give them away on any cost or I
don't know if I might give .
Due to my role and nature of the job I have a lot of electronic items which are brand new, but I'm a
prime user of offers and discounts. I do not buy second hand products because there is a doubt in
quality.
If the product is fine why anybody would will sell it, I don't want to risk it. I believe in the maximum
utilisation of the product but
Still I prefer not to sell it, also monetary incentives are not something I am
looking at.
I use online mode of purchasing products as well. I am aware of the concept of e-waste any elec-
tronic item not been used is e-waste however I am not aware or know how to dispose the e-waste, if
there is any I will think of using but at this professional level although I never tried finding one
because
I do not want to donate anything due to the emotional attachment.
I used to own a TV but not the conventional one. I own a TV tuner card which was far cheaper than a
normal TV and has more dual utilisation of desktop and computer but I am a staunch believer of
saving everything I owned. I bought my first fridge because the offer said I would get a free toaster
but due to shortage he couldnât get one however in exchange I got a 5.1 speaker system.
11. Methodology
Talking to a collection agency
We find it very difficult to reach to the consumers who want to dispose off
their e-waste and also awareness amongst the consumers is a huge
challenge.
- GreenPsycle (name changed on request) is a collection agency that operates predominantly in South
Bangalore. They collect e-waste from individuals and segregate them before sending it to the recyclers.
- They set up collection receptacles in multi-storied apartments where people can drop off their e-waste. These
receptacles are emptied every fortnight.
- Awareness about our receptacles spreads by word-of-mouth. Sometimes they conduct these collection drives
in public places such as malls and parks.
- They find that consumers are not completely sure about their authenticity and are hence hesitant to give
away larger electronic wastes. Batteries constitute majority of the collected items.
- Maintain the infrastructure and logistics poses a serious challenge. The collection receptacles needs to be
guarded by a watchman to safeguard against theft. Collecting and transporting the waste is expensive and
there is no significant monetary gain in collecting items such as batteries and wires.
12. Methodology
Talking to a subject matter expert
SME interview guide/questionnaire, what we asked:
1. His understanding on E âwaste
2. Expectation from the business plan he carries/possesses
3. His target users/ market he is looking to tap
4. How is his journey so far on the Subject
5. Overall ground reality vs. the business plan
- Awareness among corporates is high but something really needs to be done at the individual level.
Corporates just want to get the junk away, they donât look for incentives. Issues related to the cleaning of the
data from gadgets (laptops) among big corporates.
- Much more robust practices and proper guidelines for recycling of e-waste exists in the US and the EU. But
in the India it is largely an unorganised market. A lot of smaller vendors are involved and they have a lack of
basic knowledge. Need for professional players.
- Huge potential for the market to expand at high rate. A more efficient way of collecting the waste is required.
- People are not aware of the health hazards of the e-waste, neither are they willing to recycle it.
- Dirty down-the-line with locals engaging in the business of recycling or more precisely re-selling the waste.
People involved in the reselling and recycling in India generally do not understand the gravity of the situation
and their attitude is not encouraging for someone like us.
- The recyclers sell the components or the e-waste to the component manufacturers.
- Once it reaches the recyclers segregation of the metal does not happen completely. A lot of the waste goes
unaccounted for, no one knows its end life.
- Segregation and collection of e-waste is a very labour-intensive process.
- Refurbishers use the extracted metals from the recyclers and make useful products of high value.
13. Methodology
Current situation
At present there is nothing in place to cater to the problem of E- waste and there are very few options an
individual has.
- He can either throw away the e-waste in the dustbin or sell it to the local scrap dealer at throw away prices.
The problem is that in both the situations the hazardous E- waste is not reaching on the desired destination to
an authorised recycler without any accountability.
- There are high chances of this E â waste being dumped in the landfills without proper segregation.
Moreover there is a lack of a proper administration to look after the whole process from collection to disposal
of E-waste.
- Another aspect is that there is a poor awareness among people regarding the entire concept of E- waste and
its adverse affect on health of humans and environment.
14. Design Evolution
Initial concept
A web portal through which consumers can send in their e-waste to responsible
collection agencies.
In turn consumers get rewarded for the products they send in.
- Customer lands on portal (E-cycle) and registers
- Selects products from a list
- Selects the collection agency he wishes to give them to.
- Selects reward coupons in exchange for e-waste.
- Collection agent goes to customer's house to pickup e-waste
- Inspector at facility approves the items and then the customer can redeem his reward coupons.
24. Methodology
Findings from the User Test
- Partnering with recognized names builds trust and credibility in our service.
- âMode of shippingâ sounds like an e-commerce site and gives the idea that one is in fact buying something.
- Asking the user to go and drop off their articles at once was a turn off for the user who until now thought it
was a simple online-only process.
- Coupon selection was not very clear.
- Approving their products made the user feels cheated when in fact he was donating something
Heuristic evaluation of our concept - The portal
Advantages
- Can be accessed very easily from anytime and from anywhere.
- Consumers get information on the entire flow.
Disadvantages:
- High investment in manpower and logistics
- Network of collection agencies
- Inspect personnel
- Logistics involved in collecting and shipping
- Monitoring âreward couponsâ
- Large network of communication to be maintained
Rather than directly jumping to a portal and adding another portal to the already existing several portals and
finding a solution to the high investment of infrastructure and manpower we looked at ways of integrating
with existing successful systems.
25. Final Design
Revised concept
The revised idea was to evolve a design which is not stand-alone portal but a service
that could be narrated through multiple platforms.
Integrating with existing systems
Looking at the idea of integrating with currently working and successful systems and to make it more
efficient, we looked on the municipal services provided by the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike).
Firstly, we started with the analysis of the service flow (municipal) during regular garbage collection in the
city. BBMP has divided their areas into several nodes (divisions) and each node further has been divided into
layouts which are small pockets of housing localities.
Secondly, we understand how the collection is done, we understood this directly by the person who performs
it âNanjappaâ His daily routine starts at 5: m and he goes to his assigned locality of BEL layout, collects all the
.
garbage and dumps it into the bigger vehicle which then goes to the landfill.
This activity he stops by 11 am.
Thirdly, we looked into the aspect of how people âdepositâ their electricity and other utility bills, this gave us
the idea of what is the percentage of direct and indirect users of internet; this is to justify that we reach to the
masses.
26. Final design
By looking at the above scenario our focus moved from making only a portal to offering a service.
- This service would cater to customers who contribute e-waste, by rewarding them through discounts on
their electricity bills.
- Getting municipal services like BangaloreOne which facilitates services like bill depositing (electricity, phone
etc.) for government and private sector, this particular service taps audiences who are not very well oriented
with the internet and they form a large part of our consumer segment.
- The second consumer segment who were internet-savvy and up to some extent are aware of about the
problem of e-waste.
The provision of rewards was kept in order to create the aspect of âgetting something in returnâ involvement
,
of BBMP was done to generate trust and accountability among contributors, a private player (a vendor) to
perform the core ground work of collecting the e-waste.
System overview
Awareness campaigns
To have a higher participation of the amongst the consumers.
Motivating the consumer
Encourage the consumer to facilitate the process of reuse, treatment and recovery through adequate
collection and recycling infrastructure.
Facilitating collection
Easier process for consumers to give away their e-waste from their homes.
27. E - cycle
Give E-waste, get rewarded
www.e-cycle.com
System diagram
An overview of the system and its ïŹow, explaining the course of
E - waste from consumer to recycler the model works on Public Private Partnership model (PPP)
Off
%
Customer sends request to E -cycle E- cycle comes to E - cycle gives customer a Products are taken
through bangaloreOne or collect E -waste discount on his BESCOM for recycling to a
www.e-cycle.com electricity bill recycler
1 2 3 4
E - cycle takes the
1 waste to BBMP waste
segregation facility
Request goes to E- cycle sends a trained Agent inspects the
BBMP + E - cycle (vendor) collection agent at articles and issues a
customers house discount accordingly From here the waste
2 goes to the
authorised recycler
Back end process
28. Starting point
Revenue flow The recycler
The recycler relies on the collection
*Subjected to change vendors for the raw material to produce
products out of E -waste or for reselling Money flow
them to component maker, gives a deïŹned
amount to vendor as raw material cost
$
The providers Money/Volume The Vendor
The generators of E- waste - Provides the raw material to
households, BBMP rewards them Volume of e waste decides the net recycler his share of proïŹt comes
with discount deals on electricity bill proïŹt generated by various players from there
with the E waste they provide in the system, a supply chain of
various e waste providers
BBMP The ADMIN
Its money comes from the amount of
Money flow
E - waste it provides to the the vendor and
infrastructure for waste segregation, it
identiïŹes the high potential areas from
where it can get E-waste,taps the local
scrap dealers for bulk making them part of
Shows raw material inïŹow the system
29. Final design
Based on our analysis and understanding of the various services running in the city the final design was
created, this was done on how a customer will raise a request and how he will be responded on the request
in direct (customers who are internet savvy) and indirect ways (those who use BangaloreOne as the means to
connect online).
Second level was the paper prototype followed by usability testing and wireframes along with system
diagram (overview) and a first level business model.
Revised portal design
Customer lands on portal (E-cycle)
- Registers with E-cycle
- Selects items he wishes to give away
- Selects convenient date for pickup
- Requests for a free door pickup
- E-cycle goes to the customers house, collects the items on the specified date and suitably rewards him.
Scenario of usage
Riya is very fond of new gadgets and buys as and when the new product launches. But then she wants to give
away her old electronic stuff. So after searching she lands up on the web portal where she gets to know more
information about the e-waste like:
- Why should we do this?
- What benefits can she get?
- How easily old stuff can be given?
There will be online schedules available from which she chooses her appropriate time and on the specified
time a trained executive will take the e-waste, based on the condition of the e-waste the executive offers her
specific discount in her BESCOM electricity bill.
30. Final design
Paper prototypes
Post creating the design and wireframes we undertook a detailed usability testing of the paper prototypes by
keeping a script in mind. The testing provided us insights which helped us to make changes in our design. The
following pages have a detailed out description of the usability tests.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37. Final design
Screen-based wireframes
Keeping in mind the feedback we got in our user-testing of the paper prototypes, we designed black and white
digital wireframes and made a quick prototype of the screens.
The following pages show screen shots of the portal.
46. Final design
Awareness campaigns
Awareness is the most integral and crucial aspect for a successful E waste campaign irrespective of its
platform.
The awareness campaign was created for the promotion of the service that we were offering and what impact
it can bring to the society, Based on consumer segments there were two modes to this awareness campaign;
online and offline (print and outdoor advertising).
- The offline (print) ads were copy based approach showcasing a sense of what we are doing to nature, these
ads were designed keeping the focus on VOLVO city buses utilising their door panels the second part of this
was the indoor ads placed strategically inside the buses for maximum attention, similar treatment is been
done to the online media where it narrates the story of a girl through a character.
- The online media can be applied to websites, E waste portal.
Scenario of usage
Vinod is a data accountant and owns few unused electronic items at his disposal, he wants to give away all
the waste but does not know how to do that online, he is a regular user of BangaloreOne outlets which is a
municipal service for paying his various bills. Due to the familiarity with the system at the Bangalore one he
wishes if something can be done through this existing service.
47. â Us can create â But this created
billions of these â billions of us â
Act on Save it
} www.e-cycle.com
Give E-waste, get rewarded }
48. â This erased distances â Forever we created
amongst us forever â distance from it â
Act on Save it
} www.e-cycle.com
Give E-waste, get rewarded }
49. â For years it secures â Us were secured by
moments for us â it for centuries â
Act on Save it
} www.e-cycle.com
Give E-waste, get rewarded }
50. Act on
} www.e-cycle.com
Give E-waste, get rewarded }
Save it
e-cycle
Give E-waste, get rewarded
What you get with this:
With E-cycle itâs simple to get rid of your
old or unused electronic products.
* Register with E-cycle
â If we recycled 100 million
cell phones the amount of You can register with us using your
BESCOM account number and your e-mail
energy saved would be
address.
enough to power 24,000
* Request for a free door pickup.
households for one year â
Tell us what electronic items you want us to
pickup and when and weâll collect it from
your house for free.
* Get rewarded !
Get upto 30% off on your monthly
BESCOM bill.
51. Act on
} www.e-cycle.com
Give E-waste, get rewarded }
Save it
e-cycle
Give E-waste, get rewarded
What you get with this:
With E-cycle itâs simple to get rid of your
old or unused electronic products.
* Register with E-cycle
â In electronics materials
like lead, mercury and You can register with us using your
BESCOM account number and your e-mail
cadmium, are hazardous
address.
and release dangerous
* Request for a free door pickup.
toxins into air and water
when burned or deposited Tell us what electronic items you want us to
in landfills improperly â pickup and when and weâll collect it from
your house for free.
* Get rewarded !
Get upto 30% off on your monthly
BESCOM bill.
52. Act on
} www.e-cycle.com
Give E-waste, get rewarded }
Save it
e-cycle
Give E-waste, get rewarded
What you get with this:
With E-cycle itâs simple to get rid of your
old or unused electronic products.
* Register with E-cycle
â Throwing away metal
components, like copper, You can register with us using your
BESCOM account number and your e-mail
gold, silver and palladium
address.
leads to needless mining
* Request for a free door pickup.
for new metals â
Tell us what electronic items you want us to
pickup and when and weâll collect it from
your house for free.
* Get rewarded !
Get upto 30% off on your monthly
BESCOM bill.
53. Visual Design and Branding Explorations
We started off by thinking of various suitable names for our service.
The name would have to reflect certain desirable qualities of our portal such as; credibility, ease, simplicity,
trust, motivation, beneficial and eco-friendly.
Some names we considered:
- E-Bridge
- E-Connect
- E-Waste connect
- Greencycle
- E-system
- E-cology
- E-cycle
We then zeroed in on E-cycle since our focus shifted to efficient recycling. Since E-Cycle rhymes with
Re-cycle we chose this as our name.
For the tag line we wanted to convey the message of being rewarded and since the word âe-wasteâ did not
feature in our brand name we decided to include that in our tag line so that our users would know we are
talking about recyling of e-waste.
The choice of the colour green was a unanimous one since the colour green is directly associated with the
environment and nature.
E-CYCLE
Give e-waste. Get rewarded
54. Conclusions and next steps
Conclusion
- In conclusion, integrating with recognizable and reliable bodies immediately build a sense of trust in the
users. Partnering with bodies such as the BBMP and BangaloreOne streamlines and organizes our system.
- Building an awareness among people goes hand in hand with creating a successful service.
- The biggest challenge would be convincing government authorities and taking them in confidence on
return on investment.
Next steps
- We would like to approach BangaloreOne and public utility bodies like BBMP and propose our system.
- We would like to utilize the power of the online media to promote E-cycle and there by motivate large
masses to become users of our portal. In similar fashion we would like to conduct offline awareness drives
in public places, public transport etc.
56. Appendix
BBMP
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is the administrative body responsible for the civic and
infrastructural assets of the Greater Bangalore metropolitan area.
http://bbmp.gov.in/home
BESCOM
Bangalore Electricity Supply Company
http://www.bescom.co.in
BangaloreOne
BangaloreOne provides the citizen with a one stop interface with government, citizen interactions with
government departments all under a single umbrella.
http://www.bangaloreone.gov.in/
