Be part of the solution – Not the pollution: Waste management in rural areas of Nepal
By Katja Carmina Sandvik Seifert
Autumn 2022
Most commercial waste bin products on the market are not aimed for rural areas with harsh weather exposure. Design features are often manufactured for collection by vehicle or machinery, whereas Lower Mustang operates with manual collection. Current bins in the village do not offer proper storage size or international signage such as icons or symbols. They are not covered with lids and are non-strategically placed. Some of the bins are difficult to spot and create a negative user experience, which leads to destructive human behavior of increased littering. There is a sore need for a sustainable waste bin that can offer inclusiveness, education, recycling options, and invite consumers to dispose of waste, including possibilities to expand the material collection over time. Residents at the Ranipauwa village have expressed the need for a change where communication, education, and collaboration should be offered by external actors and designers.
The project outline is to work with the Ranipauwa project (TRP) to develop a sustainable waste bin for two specific locations in rural areas of Nepal. Location 1 is set at Muktinath parking lot that also operates as the local bus station and is referred to as the parking lot throughout the report. The second location is the Muktinath Temple. Both areas have a large visitation rate and suffers from littering and incorrect disposal of waste.
A major part of the product development is based on participatory interaction with stakeholders in the field. The intention is to use the product as a concept for further development and collaborations
throughout the Master Thesis, (Seifert, 2022). The new design is to be developed based on different design tools and methods including PA. Field research, data collection, primary and secondary research, interviews, feedback sessions and much more will play a vital role in creating a sustainable solution for the designated areas. A finalized design for manufacturing (DFM), in depth material analysis and production cost is not part of the project but awareness should be taken in consideration during the design process, (ibid). The goal is to create a design concept by creating Low to Mid-fidelity prototypes and present suggestions for further research and design development. Thus, the product solution in this report is an indication of a proposed feasible waste management (WM) product in the specific settings without necessarily being a completely finalized DFM product. The aim is to develop a product solution by integrating participatory tools and methods from the design field.