Treecycle
An app to make recycling accessible and rewarding
Role
Team
UXUI Designer
Solo Project
Duration
Tools
2 Weeks
Figma, Adobe XD
Overview
“Treecycle” is a mobile app to encourage recycling by simplifying the process of finding recycling locations, tracking environmental impact, and fostering a community for sharing recycling tips. It makes recycling accessible and rewarding.
Research and Problems
To understand user needs, I conducted primary research - user interviews and secondary research - competitive analysis of a few local recycling apps.
From my research, I identified three key pain points users faced while using recycling apps.
01
Location Accessibility
Users struggle to find immediate, convenient recycling points that cater to specific categories of waste, leading to friction in the disposal process
02
User Motivation
There is a significant lack of engagement or incentive throughout the recycling journey, causing users to feel uninspired to maintain the habit
03
Knowledge Barriers
Users often lack the foundational information needed to categorize items correctly, making the recycling process feel confusing or intimidating.
Problem 1
Unclear Guidance
People find it confusing or inconvenient to recycle correctly due to a lack of clear information about recycling locations and the preparation processes.
Solution 1
Solution 1: Lack of clarity discourages consistent recycling habits. Treecycle aims to simplify the process by providing intuitive navigation, clear instructions, and accessible location details. To tackle the confusion around recycling, I designed a streamlined user flow.
User flow
1. Choose recyclable item types (e.g., plastic, paper) via clear icons
2. A simple, illustrated tutorial appears, guiding users on pre-recycling steps
3. The app transitions to a map displaying nearby recycling spots, with detailed information like accepted materials and operating hours.
Users find locations easily, reducing abandonment and contamination. Increase User satisfaction.
Design Iteration
Problem 2
Unmotivated
Users feel unmotivated throughout the recycling process. Interviewees noted that without visible impact, recycling feels tedious.
Solution 2
Treecycle visually represents the CO2 savings as equivalent trees planted on the home screen. This gamified impact tracker is designed to boost engagement and make recycling a rewarding experience. It helps users clearly see their environmental contributions.
Users’ motivation rises with rewarding impact feedback
Problem 3
Limited Knowledge
Users often lack basic knowledge about recycling, and they strive to adopt more environmentally friendly habits in their daily lives. They also desire to learn more sustainable living practices, seeking practical ways to reduce their footprint
Solution 3
I added a discussion forum for peer learning and an information section with recycling FAQs, offering clear guidance and practical tips while fostering a supportive community for sustainable practices.
Inspires users to embrace eco-friendly practices with confidence and ease
Takeaways
01
Crafting Enjoyable Experiences
Through designing the impact tracker featuring tree visuals and milestones, I discovered how gamification can effectively drive behavioural change. I realised that UX design goes beyond merely fulfilling a function—it involves creating enjoyable experiences for users. To transform user actions into visually rewarding moments, this approach boosts motivation by instilling a sense of achievement.
02
Designing for Clarity
By streamlining the user flow and reducing unnecessary steps, I learned how powerful clarity is in shaping user behaviour. When instructions and navigation are intuitive, users feel more confident and are more likely to complete their goals without hesitation. This reinforced the importance of reducing cognitive load in UX design.