Editor’s Note: Local high school students have developed a concept for an app that may help people recycle right and are requesting assistance to test their concept. The student concept is not a product or initiative of the Solid Waste District. This blog was provided by students Marianna Steele and Lauren Voinovich. It was edited and rewritten for clarity.
Hathaway Brown Seniors Marianna Steele and Lauren Voinovich were witness to widespread misinformation and contamination regarding recycling within their school and local community. They decided to do something about it by developing the initiative Second Chance.
Developing the Concept
At Hathaway Brown School, Marianna and Lauren are involved in the Business and Finance Fellowship and Strnad Fellowship in Creativity. They also have experience as the Vice President of the HBS Investment Group and the CEO of the Hathaway Brown Cafe, respectively.
In 2020, after the City of Cleveland stopped accepting recycling, Lauren and Marianna entered two contests with the idea of reinventing the way we recycle. They received an award as runner-up in the Veale ThinkBig! Challenge in 2021 and, after expanding their business plan, took first place in the Quality of Life category for Accelerate Citizens Make Change Pitch Competition in 2022.
Their project initiative, Second Chance, hopes to become a revolutionary start-up recycling identification service developed using an expansive database of UPC and QR product codes that inform consumers of the recycling status of an item based on the regulations of their area. Through community feedback, Second Chance aims to create an app where consumers can learn all they need to know about recycling policy; pick-ups or collection date changes; their personal or municipal greenness rating; staying sustainable; and keeping their carbon footprint as low as possible.
Testing the Idea
To make this concept a reality, Lauren and Marianna need feedback from the Greater Cleveland community on how to make the app accessible and useful for everyone. Additionally, they’ve requested project feedback and assistance from the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District to spread the word about their conceptual project. The students have created four app designs and a survey to measure user feedback.
Below you will find 4 unique app designs they’ve created. To provide quality feedback, they ask that you click on each of the links below to the designs and look through all four, then begin the survey. Referencing the designs as you go through the questions is recommended as well to ensure your comments are as specific and actionable as possible.
After viewing the designs, take the survey. The survey will close on April 9, 2023.
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