Creating sustainable steps and tools for users of nicotine vapes to properly dispose of their devices.

Role: Research, Design

Impact:

This project was part of my MS HCDE program. I defined the problem space, conducted secondary and usability research, developed user flows and storyboards, and helped design the product. I used Figma for prototyping, pen and paper for product ideation, Microsoft office for user research. This project was presented as part of a course showcase for HCDE 518.


This project helped me grow as a leader, expand my experience in service design, and increase my familiarity with the user experience design process.

Course: HCDE 518: User Centered Design │ Fall 2023

Team: Seamus McPeake, Divya Mavinkurve, Hayley Jang, Yubo Zhao

Timeline: 10 weeks

Methods: Usability Testing, Interaction Design, Secondary Research

Tools: Zoom, Figma, Google Suite

The Problem

Disposable vapes contain lithium ion batteries which contribute to fires at waste manufacture plants.

The Solution

Informing users of proper disposal techniques through packaging redesigns and creating accessible, easy to find disposal bins for users​.

  • At a glance

  • The context

Initially my group wanted to work on a project focused on a solution for battery disposal.

  • The problem

  • The final designs

There are limited disposal options for "disposable" nicotine vaporizers.

We targeted people who use disposable vapes.

Disposable vapes contain lithium ion batteries, which are not meant to be disposed of in waste bins or recycling bins.

RESEARCH QUESTION 1

RESEARCH QUESTION 2

When the batteries are processed at regular recycling plants they have the potential to cause fires, chemical leaks, and are ineffective in material recovery.

With assistance from my group I was able to craft a survey to gather participants.

As long as they were over 18 years of age, and used disposable nicotine vaporizers within the past year we were interested in interviewing them. We used survey participants for our user interviews.​​

For the interview stage, participants engaged in a mix of virtual and in-person semi-structured interviews.

GETTING DATA

Users are unaware.

Between lack of education on how to properly dispose of a vape and the harmful effects, users are completely unaware and uneducated about proper vape disposal.

"I feel like there's a lack of education about proper disposal, it's part of the reason I didn't know." - Participant

INSIGHT 1

Proper disposal is inconvenient.

INSIGHT 2

BOX REDESIGN

INFO STICKERS

Check out this quote from a participant that was a vape store owner and user of disposable nicotine vapes:

Medium Fidelity Prototype

A new vape box design features a symbol to let users know that the box itself is recyclable.

Additionally, the box features a QR code which users can scan to visit the ReVolt website.

We designed stickers to be put on vapes to provide users with immediate information about vape disposal.

The sticker also has the ReVolt website QR code.

  • My reflection

WHAT I'D HAVE CHANGED

What I'd like to have happened differently

Making an impact

I would have liked to been able to run a few more iteration and user research sessions before finalizing on what we made. The end product was alright, but we didn't get to talk to users as much as I would have liked to.

More time for team to create design recommendation mockups

This project proved to be great practice for me to practice leadership and take moments to group and focus my group towards the goal we wanted. There were moments of group disorganization but I'm proud of the final product we created.

Leadership

Although this was a university project I'd like for it to have real-world implementation. Next steps would be contacting local government officials to push for providing not only them but users information on the harm of improper vape disposal and getting information on the costs of implementing these solutions.

While looking at articles on the topic of battery disposal I came across an article about vapes causing fires in disposal facilities.

Secondary research became the starting point for this project, coming across articles about disposable vapes and the issues their disposal is causing.​

Check out some of the articles:

  • The Guardian

  • Time

  • Vice

  • Gaica

  • VeoLia

I proposed the topic change to my group and we decided to go in this new direction, as we thought it was more original and couldn't find a current solution for the problem.

  • The goal

We started with two research questions

"Is the existence of improper vape disposal apparent?"

"Are users aware of proper vape disposal methods?"

From the navigation bar and clothing categories to the search bar; users can't find the appointment booking page.

"I know it's (putting disposable vapes in the trash) harmful, but I don't think anyone makes such efforts, and not many are aware... I wish there were better ways, but we just tell them (customers) to throw it away." - Participant

Early Ideation

PROBLEM STATEMENT

GROUP SKETCHING

USABILITY PROBLEM #1

USABILITY PROBLEM #2

Me and my group conduced a sketch brainstorming session to generate base ideas that could spread information for users and create higher levels of convenience.

From casing redesigns to battery changes, we had a wide variety of ideas and ultimately decided on using purposely designed community bins for convenience, and packaging redesign with an accompanied website for awareness.

For the interview stage, participants engaged in a mix of virtual and in-person semi-structured interviews.

  • The solutions

We created a problem statement

"How might we increase the convenience and awareness of proper vape disposal processes and techniques?"

  • Usability testing

Low fidelity prototyping

I conducted usability tests on users to test if users can understand our newly designed symbols and website interface mean.

Usability testing involving seeing if users can take the vape out of its packaging, scan the QR code, and go through our website.

I used a thinkaloud technique, asking users to discuss their thoughts on what they are seeing and how they would interact with it.

1. Vape disposal bin with QR code and symbols

2. Vape packaging with QR code and symbols

3. Vape with QR code and symbols

1. Mobile interface prototype

Usability Problems

Participants were not aware of what the QR code did or what they were supposed to do with it.

Participants misunderstood what the symbols on our packaging meant, and could not distinguish recycling symbolism from vape disposal symbolism.

DISPOSAL BIN

We designed a vape disposal bin that can be attached to existing disposal bins, or objects in common areas where vaping may occur.

The disposal bin has information about vape disposal and a QR code to the ReVolt website.

REVOLT WEBSITE

The Revolt website has a map feature where users can locate disposal bins near them.

Users can input their current location and the website will locate their nearest disposal bin.

The website features further information on ways users can practice proper vape disposal techniques.

In addition to finding out about proper disposal techniques, users can learn statistics about the harm improper disposal does to our environment.