Circular Design Challenge Hackathon July 8, 2017 | Bitmaker Labs

Toronto Chapter

OpenIDEO Toronto Circular Design Challenge Hackathon Page 1

T H E P A R T I C I P A N T S

T H E I N S I G H T S

On sustainability, innovation, & growth

Professor Blundell, from the adjunct faculty at

the Rotman School of Management, UofT,

kicked off the event with an inspiring talk about

how we can tackle the world’s biggest

sustainability issues. He encouraged us to think

beyond innovative technology to innovative

business models, emphasizing his point with

examples from around the world.

By focusing on the business model, companies

can embrace sustainability as a culture, not just

a department, and keep sustainability as the

outcome, rather than the objective, of a good

business.

Prof Blundell went further with a surprising

directive to steal ideas by observing value

chains in very atypical industries and leveraging

open source models. The world is the new

innovation lab and it’s time we use it for good!

On the circular design challenge

After being freshly inspired by Professor Blundell and forming

teams with new friends, we sifted through the OpenIDEO research,

use cases, and personas on how we might get products to people

without generating plastic waste. As insights were shared around

the room, three major themes emerged about this challenge.

It’s a systemic challenge. There are so many stakeholders and

factors when it comes to plastic waste that the opportunities to

intervene are plenty and diverse. Each team highlighted a different

opportunity, whether for better dumping, better collection, better

materials, better physical designs, or better consumer behaviour.

It’s a global challenge. Individual packaging is preferred in the first-

world, which prioritizes convenience, while individual packaging is a

necessity for the third-world, who can’t afford to buy in bulk. In

both cases, individual packaging is in demand. This presents the

potential for one solution to impact many around the world.

It’s an intergenerational challenge. We were passionate about the

problem, but it was not one we necessarily chose. It was part of the

system passed on to us from our parents and grandparents when

they were facing a different set of challenges.

How might we get

products to people

without generating

plastic waste?

T H E P R O C E S S

1. Guest speaker

2. Team formation

3. Insight digging

4. Ideation

5. Prototyping

6. Idea sharing

28 talented individuals 5 exciting, jam-packed hours

T H E C H A L L E N G E

UI designers, product designers,

materials experts, management

consultants, software engineers &

developers, and students.

OpenIDEO Toronto Circular Design Challenge Hackathon Page 2

T H E I D E A S

T H E E X P E R I E N C E

Recyclift

An on-demand solution for

recycling pickup through an

app to help reduce the inconvenience

that is often associated with recycling

and waste removal.

Snap-On Straw

Redesigned and retrofitted

disposable drinkware so that

small plastics, like straws, can snap on

to lids and cups to travel as one unit

to the end destination — the recycling

centre.

Bulk Dispensary for

Liquid Products

A one-stop shop retail

solution allowing consumers to

access different liquid products on an

as-need basis to eliminate the small

plastic packets of liquid products.

Open Source Recycling

An end-to-end tracking and

micropayment system for recycling

plastic bags to encourage recycling,

create accountability, and diagnose

sources of waste.

Soap Packaging

A packaging for soap bars

that can be repurposed for baby

diapers or returned for money to

reduce the plastic waste from soap

packaging in impoverished areas.

UnPact

Accessible bulk purchasing for

condo dwellers to encourage

residents to participate in bulk

purchases of non-perishable items

using refillable containers.

“Overall, event was well organized by a team who is

passionate. I found Prof. Richard Blundell’s talk very

interesting and educational. Hope to see more of such

talks going forward. The process laid out was in line with

my expectations and I was glad to see other attendees

from different backgrounds at the event.” - Sanjeev

“I really enjoyed the guest lecture and how OpenIDEO

gave us the opportunity to meet other people to

brainstorm ideas together. I think the most challenging

part, which was also the most fun and interesting part, was

how we worked with others with different disciplines in a

short period of time. We had to understand each other’s

perspective and respect each other’s ideas to create a

great working environment.” - Eva

“The most challenging process was narrowing down our

ideas in the time that we were given. One of our team

members, Josh, took charge and allotted time towards

brainstorming/designing our prototypes, and overall it

really helped us formulate our ideas. I was also interested

in the guest speaker since I came from a software

background and we were not taught some of these

principles. It was definitely eye-opening.” - Sean

“I really liked that your team walked us through the

process of forming ideas and did not simply let us go off on

our own. I felt like I learned about the process just as much

as I was forming ideas.” - Angela