SUPCUP is a closed-loop system designed to reduce waste in coffee shops in Seoul.

Client

Seoul Upcycling Plaza

Scope

1 Week

May 2016

Role

Project Lead

Research

Strategy

Team

Chaewon

Younghye

Hyewon

Gibbeum

Minkyeong

Thomas

Overview

During a one-week workshop in Seoul, 10 UAL students and 20 SADI students were divided into teams to develop new solutions for the Seoul Upcycling Plaza (SUP) to encourage Seoul citizens to live more sustainably, and further the awareness of waste as a resource. My team in particular decided to use the circular economy as our North Star, focusing on zero-waste thinking rather than simply extending product life cycles (which eventually end up in landfill anyways). After primary and secondary research, we honed in on the opportunity of using coffee shops in Seoul as a way to reduce waste and promote sustainability.

Process Map

Overview of our team's process, following the double diamond process split into 4 stages.

Research

Research for this project consisted of a mix of site visits, street observations and guerrilla interviews. This was vital in combining the knowledge and expertise of our stakeholders with the needs of the community we observed in the field.

Tour of SUP

Our client site - the Seoul Upcycling Plaza was a new and modern building (not yet open at the time) - designed to be a hub of resources for sustainable innovation. The plaza housed recycling/upcycling facilities as well as acted as an incubator for social enterprises by providing workspaces.

Streets of Seoul

We hit the streets of Seoul to observe how people obtain and discard of trash in different situations. We also did guerilla interviews of Seoul citizens to ask about their lifestyle in regards to trash.

Seoul Resource Center

Touring the Seoul Resource Center, we were able to gain some insight on the end-of-life stage in the recycling process.

Key Insights

Gravity of Waste

Huge amounts of waste are produced every day in Seoul and spread all across the city.

Contrasting Situations

There are heavily contrasting situations in recycling outcomes depending on what system is in place.

Lack of Awareness

The awareness of upcycling is staggeringly low, especially given the high awareness of recycling.

Recycling system in residential complex - strict recycling rules are enforced by an on-site guard.

Trash build up in the streets of Seoul; no system in place.

Synthesis

Personas

Situation Evaluation

Following our research, we visualized the journey of one of our personas - the student - in his daily life. Through this, we highlighted pain points and areas for improvement.

Opportunity

How might the SUP leverage consumer’s daily touchpoints to reduce waste and encourage more sustainable behavior?

Concept Design

SUPCUP is a takeback system where coffee is served in reusable 'SUPCUPs' which rotate around Seoul's coffee shops. When a consumer finishes their coffee, they simply return the cup to any nearby shop to receive a ‘SUPcoin’ in return, which can be used for their next cup of coffee. By having coffee shops take ownership over the reusable cup system, it brings their costs down while simultaneously allowing patrons to be more sustainable with the same convenience.