Recycling bin concepts for hotels on Zanzibar Island : - Efficient and sustainable recycling for one of Zanrec Plastics Ltd. customer groups

Sammanfattning: This report presents a developed recycling bin concept for Zanrec Plastics Ltd. (Zanrec Plastics in this report), a Swedish company that is about to implement a solid waste recycling system on Zanzibar Island, Tanzania. Zanrec Plastics will negotiate waste management with the hotels, that produce a large part of the recyclable garbage on the island, and the project aim is to develop a concept that will help Zanrec Plastics in these negotiations. Zanrec Plastics requirements on the concepts regard environmental and economical sustainability, as well as gaining social acceptance. Therefore, the goal is to develop a concept that will make the sorting procedure efficient for the hotels and Zanrec Plastics. Its design and usage should educate guests and staff about recycling and the hotels should gain an environmentally friendly image when using them. The concepts should also be low-cost concepts. The methodology follows a stage-gate structure to involve Zanrec Plastics in the development of the concept. The project group conducted field studies organized in different stages that were separated by gates. Zanrec Plastics was then involved in the decision making within the gates. The field studies were interviews with hotel managers, with the goal to find out what hotels valued in regard to recycling and waste management. Hotel managers were chosen for interview since they know the hotel owners and potential buyers of a recycling system as well as the staff, hotel routines and guests. The development of the concept started with a wide concept-idea about waste storage with compartments for different recyclables. After two stages this resulted in two separated concepts; one for the hotel guests and one for the staff. The final concept for the guests is called the room bin. It is a one-compartment bin for recyclable waste, for hotel room use and is a complement to the regular bin of the room. It is conic shaped and made out of compacted plastic bottles. The design is chosen do differentiate the room bin from the regular garbage bin and to symbolize the reuse of recyclable material in new products. The concept for the hotel staff is called the sorting station. It is a module system of storage units or compartments, for separation and storage of waste. The module function allows hotels to have different numbers of compartments so that they can adjust the system to their dumpsite areas and amount of waste. In addition, it is possible for hotels to choose between gathering the waste in plastic bags or trolleys fitted to the sorting station. It is made in recycled plastic and the design is kept simple. By minimizing the number of corners where dirt can stick it also makes the sorting station hygienic. The lids of the units have openings with different shapes for different waste categories, and there are also signs and text in Swahili and English on what to throw in each compartment. The room bin and the sorting station make the sorting efficient for hotels as well as for Zanrec Plastics; hotels get a cleaner and more hygienic environment without having to add extra time and Zanrec Plastics get the plastic and paper sorted to the plant. The concepts educate guests and staff about recycling and bring value to the hotels since they gain an environmental friendly image towards visitors. The concepts can be processed and assembled at Zanrec Plastics plant at Zanzibar Island, and can be made out of low-cost materials.