From bottle to educational game

From bottle to educational game: Upcycling plastic waste for educational purposes in Colombia

Vaendel, T.M.A.

Diehl, J.C. (mentor)
Balkenende, A.R. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Design Engineering

Integrated Product Design

Technology in Sustainable Development

2017-02-17

Within the scope of ‘circular economy in emerging markets’ the aim of this exploratory graduation project is to design a local application for educational purposes with the recycled PET filament that will be developed by Urban Mining in Colombia. A major issue in Colombia is the problem of plastic waste that often ends up in landfill as well as in the environment. This leads to a loss of the value captured in the material and damage to the environment. An informal waste sector exists in which poor residents collect and separate waste and receive an income by selling the waste to the recycling industry. Working conditions are unsafe and unhealthy due to the informality of the market and non-existence of agreements or cooperation with authorities. Urban Mining recognizes these challenges and wants to explore the potential of implementing their concept in Colombia. Filament (the ‘ink’ for 3D printing) from post-consumer PET bottles is regarded as an interesting product. The purpose with the recycled PET filament is twofold: for export and for a local application that generates a positive impact for the community. This graduation project focuses on the latter and focuses on educational purposes. Through an analysis in the areas of recycling PET, 3D printing and education, the design vision is defined as: “I want to design a playful educational product-service system that supports teaching specific knowledge in secondary education in Colombia and that incorporates the unique features of 3D printing with recycled PET filament.” This results in the final concept for the product-service system “Juega la abeja”: an interactive educational game for secondary school students to practice knowledge in class (product component) and an online platform that involves the teachers in the development of the product by creating questions and answers (service component). The meaning of “Juega la abeja” is literally “Play the bee”. In Colombia “abeja” has still another meaning, it is a synonym for a smart and intelligent person. The game is based on the interactive use of lights, on which blocks are placed that incorporate the translucent characteristic as unique feature of the recycled PET filament and customizability as unique feature of 3D printing. In this concept the game “Gather your honey” is developed; this is a multiplayer game with the aim to ‘win’ the most blocks by answering the questions correctly. User tests in Colombian schools validate the concept of “Juega la abeja”. A prototype is made that serves as a proof of concept for the functionality and production of the product. Through a material processing research insights were gained on the light transmission and readability of text on the blocks, both are important elements for playing the game. These insights contribute to a general understanding of the possibilities, characteristics and behaviour of the recycled PET filament. Before “Juega la abeja” can be further developed, several preceding steps need to be undertaken. The outcome of the project is regarded as a first step to explore and initiate the business case of Urban Mining in Colombia.

Circular economy in emerging markets
upcycling plastic waste
Colombia
recycled PET filament
3D printing
education

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ac90f49a-4ff3-4246-a191-ea9efab73dbb

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2017 Vaendel, T.M.A.