This thesis focuses on developing a centralized dishwashing service with the goal of reducing the amount of disposable tableware waste generated at Avinor Oslo Airport. Moreover, the project aims to help Avinor Oslo Airport achieve its objective of becoming a zero-waste airport by 2030.

The research process followed the Triple-diamond model, facilitating a structured approach through mainly three phases: Understand, Ideate, and Develop. The ‘Understand’ involves the study of the literature review, analysis of existing practices, field research, and stakeholder interviews to gain an understanding of the context. During the ‘Ideate’ phase three concepts were developed and evaluated through iterative testing and feedback. Finally, at the ‘Develop’ phase, the final concept, Green Circles, is developed. Green Circles is a centralised dishwashing service for reusable takeaway containers, that allows passengers to drop the containers at drop-off machines at the boarding gates and airport exists.

The implementation of Green Circles is expected to significantly reduce single-use tableware waste at Avinor Oslo Airport. The study highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement, convenient passenger experience, and efficient operational integration. Broader implications suggest that similar services could be adopted in other airports, contributing to the aviation industry’s sustainability efforts, such as those proposed by TULIPS.

This research project explores opportunities for EcoWorld to expand their product portfolio beyond mere recycling. The initial goal was to investigate potential products that could improve the living conditions of local communities in Watamu, Kenya, using collected plastic waste. EcoWorld, a local non-profit organization, aims to ignite the plastic recycling economy in Watamu by creating dynamic value waste streams and empowering women and youth as drivers of this economy. However, they face challenges in moving from recycling to circular design practices and in identifying suitable products for the local communities.

The research begins by defining the local context and identifying key stakeholders. It reveals a significant plastic waste problem in Watamu and inadequate living conditions for the local communities. While there is a growing understanding of the potential of collecting and recycling plastic waste, a knowledge gap hinders progress towards more circular practices. The research clarifies what circular practices mean in the local context, centering on creating products from plastic waste that offer enhanced social benefits to end-users while managing the entire lifecycle of these products. It explores EcoWorld’s potential to build a business around this approach and develops a framework for integrating circular practices into local product production. Integrating local end-users into the design process emerged as a key opportunity to create value, understanding, and awareness, ensuring proper waste management and slowing down the resource loop.
A four-week field research in Watamu engaged these various stakeholders in the design process. Observations and interviews with EcoWorld employees highlighted the potential for new technologies to move beyond recycling and the openness to raising community awareness. Creative sessions with local communities provided insights into their perspectives on plastic pollution and their needs for improving their living conditions. While there was interest in using plastic waste materials, trust in these materials for structural improvements, like bricks for houses, was lacking. However, there was significant interest in improving household cleanliness through storage solutions.

Based on these insights, a cabinet design was developed during the design phase together with the local end users. The design focuses on practicality and simplicity to fit the local market, emphasizing functionality and ease of use. The production process was kept simple with minimal tool requirements to ensure feasibility for local production at EcoWorld. The design aligns with the established circular framework, ensuring proper handling of the product at its end-of-life, thereby slowing down the resource loop.

Finally, a transition model was created for EcoWorld’s future growth. An implementation plan for the current product includes the necessary tools and machines for successful production. The transition model is based on building trust among end-users as they become familiar with using plastic waste materials for products and actively participate in the emerging economy. This involvement will enable EcoWorld to expand their product portfolio further and focus on proper waste management in the future, creating jobs and income for women and youth in Watamu, igniting the local plastic recycling economy.

This Design for Interaction master thesis is focussed on the development of a design intervention to encourage consumer behaviour towards DIY repair and upgrading of furniture. The project was carried out in collaboration with the Behaviour Insights Team of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and Het Groene Brein.

Problem background:
Furniture is a product category which causes a large environmental impact due to the materials they contain and consumers’ current replacement behaviour. In the Netherlands, over half of the large amount of disposed furniture pieces have not reaching the end of their lifespan (Koch & Vringer, 2023). Increasing repair and upgrading behaviour can extend the life of damaged or undesired furniture pieces and thereby reduce environmental impact.

Research & design goal:
Literature research, generative sessions, a survey and expert interviews were used to determine how a design intervention can most effectively contribute to the desired behaviour change. It was concluded that the design should support 18-35 aged, high income, high education consumers, living in the big cities, to ...

1. … make a plan with a desired outcome for ...
2. … together perform ...

... DIY repair and/or upgrade activities for furniture from the low/medium priced segment made from wood and/or textile and foam in 2024.


Design proposal:
The outcome of this master thesis is a design intervention named ‘Opknappers,’ a proposal for Intergamma (the umbrella organization of Karwei and Gamma). The proposal includes DIY cards and an exposition showcasing and explaining repair/upgrade possibilities in the physical shops. Additionally, a concept for the Opknappers app has been developed, which allows consumers to visualise upgrade options for their own furniture. Finally, a plan was made for using Intergamma’s websites and social media to support consumers in the DIY process. The final design was evaluated with customers and employees of Intergamma, and final improvements and recommendations were made.

This report delves into the intricacies of sustainable consumer behavior, in the context of Schiphol airport. Schiphol airport is a large airport with large numbers of passengers. These passengers also create waste, which is discarded of. Schiphol has the aim to be zero-waste by 2030.
PET bottles and cans could be seen as a big contributor in the waste streams of Schiphol. This was concluded from research that was executed by TULIPS.
An opportunity for this project was found, as PET bottles and cans are a great option for recycling. This means that ideally these beverage containers should have their separate waste stream. Drawing upon Fogg’s behavior model (2009) as a foundational framework, design opportunities could be found. The model proposes that behaviour is a combination of three key factors: motivation, ability and triggers. In this context, motivation is explored in terms of environmental concerns, while capability is divided into
components such as time, money and physical effort, among others. Triggers, on the other hand, are categorised as sparks, facilitators and signals, each playing a different role in influencing behaviour. The research further delves into practical applications, with a focus on Schiphol and the challenges of PET bottle and can collection. Through a series of brainstorming sessions and idea generation exercises, participants created visual ideas and potential solutions. A final design is proposed which consists of an add-on at the current waste bins at Schiphol, and a campaign proposal. The report concludes with a series of recommendations and insights into what the final design could offer Schiphol as it moves towards a more sustainable future.

95 % of all the buildings in the Netherlands rely on natural gas for heat. But in just 30 years, all of these 7 million homes must have said goodbye to gas forever. A complex project, since the alternative to gas, is not a one size fits all solution. There are several options and their feasibility is highly dependent on the neighborhood context. Therefore, municipalities became responsible for the Dutch energy transition. In the earlier energy transition from coal to gas in the 1980s, there were clear economic benefits for residents. Now, despite the record-breaking gas prices, the long-term returns on investments are uncertain while there are many short-term inconveniences.

The technical side of the energy transition tends to overshadow the social dimension. The technical challenges are clear and the path to work on the viable solution is familiar since the municipalities have been in charge of similar infrastructure projects. The social transition, however, is highly dependent on the local situation and requires time. The municipalities have to become the spider that holds the web of stakeholders together to make this complex process work. To help municipalities stay in charge of the energy transition, Stroomversnelling developed Wijkkompas: a process management tool that guides municipalities from ‘Transitie Visie Warmte’ to ‘Wijk Uitvoerings Plan’. Wijkkompas helps municipalities balance the social and technical side of the transition.

On the social side of the transition, participation is a well-known factor that municipalities already take into account. The goal of participation is to make informed decisions together with residents through representation. However, through participation alone municipalities will not be able to reach all seven million households. Therefore the goal of this thesis is to effectively apply the social contagion method to the Wijkkompas tool since social contagion is a process in which the network in the neighborhood will take on the task of activating residents themselves.

Social contagion theory teaches us both information and behavior can be transmitted in a network. Each has its optimal way of traveling through the network and thus has an optimal seeding strategy. For the energy transition, the transmitting behavior with the snowball strategy can be very valuable. Holistically it would be best to separate the participation from the social contagion approach and run a parallel process. However, for the social transition, we rely on volunteers who are busy and scarce. Therefore we propose a six-step model that adequately combines both techniques for a successful neighborhood transition.

The biggest impact can be made when municipalities find the courage to try out this new activation method. The Lopend vuurtje box, designed in this project, uses the principles of social contagion to spread the method through the inter-municipal network. The box invites its receivers to try out the method for themselves through personal assignment, a small experiment, an educational flyer, and by becoming part of the Lopend vuurtje network by sending the box further along its journey through the Dutch municipal network.

The Dutch government wants to be circular in 2050. The industry of kitchens and kitchen appliances needs new innovative models of practice to reduce its environmental footprint. As kitchen appliance manufacturer, ATAG Benelux is investing in innovation to create more sustainable and circular business propositions. In a circular economy products and materials have to ‘loop’ back into the system after they lost value, but ATAG’s current system is linear, bringing the appliances to the customer and not returning them. The aim of this thesis is to explore how ATAG can use design to contribute to a circular economy. It is a collaboration between ATAG Benelux and Delft University of Technology. This thesis focuses on the user, their behavior, and their attitudes towards Product Service Systems (PSS's) and Refurbishment as they play a big role in business models. As a case study, the combi-steam oven is used to explore PSS's. The user’s attitude towards refurbishment and circular PSS’s is explored through in-depth interviews. The results reveal several challenges in acceptance for different types of ownership of ovens and show that for the target group of ATAG a system of buy-back is most suitable. The context of retaining value for refurbishment was researched through literature, interviews, and creative sessions. This shows different directions for design to benefit the refurbishment process. The recommended circular business proposition is for ATAG to take back appliances after a use cycle. ATAG Benelux can refurbish its products to save materials and resources. For refurbishment it is important that products retain their value as long as possible. The final design consists of return incentives for users and the Care Assistant. This human centered design stimulates product care, which is a type of sustainable use and handling. The design will influence the user’s behavior in a sustainable way to retain more value, enable efficient refurbishment and a second life cycle. The product care is needed to have a longer product life, or to take back an appliance that is in a better state (than it would be if product care had not been stimulated). With a buy-back system, users are stimulated to return the appliances, rather than let the appliance end up in recycling or worse.