| Below is a typical
problem faced by pupils as they arrive at school in the morning and
continue to face during break times and lunch times. Having left home in
the morning, often without breakfast and arriving at school with their
substitute breakfast they are faced with the dilemma - “do I drop my
litter on the floor for the caretaker to pick up?” OR “ do I find the one
recycling bin in school and use it?” The average school has hundreds of pupils and many are interested in conserving and improving the environment in which they work and socialise. One way in which schools encourage pupils to consider our environmental responsibilities is to encourage them to keep the school environment as clean and tidy as possible and to consider recycling waste / packaging. Imagine that you are a designer and your school is your client/customer. You are to list design requirements in order to solve the problems outlined by the cartoon below. Start be asking your customer/clients (staff and pupils) a series of questions. |
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| (QUESTION IN BLACK - ANSWERS IN BLUE) |
| 1. How many recycling bins are needed
in school? We will need at least twenty bins, distributed around the school grounds and in the canteens. 2. What type of waste and packaging ends up blowing around the school yard after break and lunch times? We found a range of recyclable packaging, glass bottles and plastics. 3. What is the size of an average recycle bin? The sizes of bins vary. We found the average was 100cm in height, 50cm in depth and width. 4. Where should recycling bins be situated so that they are more likely to be used? We would like to see recycling bins in the canteen and in the middle of the school yards. 5. What materials are strong, robust and suitable for recycling bins. We would like to see recycling bins manufactured from material that can be recycled once the bins useful working life is over. (HDPE for example.) 6. What colour is most suitable for recycling bins? Should cartoon characters be added? A natural colour such as green could be the base colour. 7. Should the recycling bins be mobile units? The caretaker or responsible pupils could position the bins in the morning and remove them to a collection point at the end of the day. 8. Who will be in charge of the bins? Will there be an advertising / information campaign in school to encourage the use of recycling bins? A group of responsible, interested pupils. 9. Will a lid be required for a recycling bin? A recycling bin will need a hinged lid. This will stop light recyclable materials from blowing around and stop wasps and files being attracted to it. (List more questions that you consider need adding to the ones above.) |
| ADD FOUR MORE QUESTIONS YOU THINK A DESIGNER WOULD ASK: |
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