Barriers for sustainable waste management practices in grocery stores. Exploration by Research-through-Design

15 pages•Published: May 10, 2018

Sofie Nyström, Cecilia Katzeff and Daniel Pargman

Abstract

Since natural resources are limited, we need to ensure that materials are reused and recycled to the highest degree possible. Information and feedback as well as incentives may encourage people to alter their behavior. In this paper, we explore waste practices within grocery stores and how feedback through visualizations may help stores improve their waste management. We have studied the gap between current waste data and waste data that is both meaningful and can be acted upon as well as barriers between actionable data and organizational change. Nine interviews were conducted with a central facilities manager, store managers, employees and a representative from the waste collection company. Based on the results from these interviews, two mockups of web visualizations were designed and later evaluated in two additional stores. The initial interviews highlighted knowledge about waste, economic and environmental incentives for recycling and current modes of feedback and comparisons between stores. The mockups also reveal structural tensions between economic and environmental goals that wouldn’t be affected solely by better visualization of data. We conclude by discussing obstacles that needs to be overcome to reach organizational change in terms of more sustainable waste management practices in grocery stores.

Keyphrases: data visualization, design mockups, grocery stores, research through design, waste management practices

In: Birgit Penzenstadler, Steve Easterbrook, Colin Venters and Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed (editors). ICT4S2018. 5th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology for Sustainability, vol 52, pages 243-257.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/D5BF
	https://doi.org/10.29007/7czw

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ICT4S2018:Barriers_sustainable_waste_management,
  author    = {Sofie Nyström and Cecilia Katzeff and Daniel Pargman},
  title     = {Barriers for sustainable waste management practices in grocery stores. Exploration by Research-through-Design},
  booktitle = {ICT4S2018. 5th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology for Sustainability},
  editor    = {Birgit Penzenstadler and Steve Easterbrook and Colin Venters and Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Computing},
  volume    = {52},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2398-7340},
  url       = {/publications/paper/D5BF},
  doi       = {10.29007/7czw},
  pages     = {243-257},
  year      = {2018}}

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