Project title: Redirecting Consumer Convenience: Consumer Consumption of Single Use Packaging
Product Name: Relay
Topic/Problem Description:
According to the EPA , of the 292.4 million tons of waste (trash and recycling) produced in The United States of America in 2018, 82.22 million tons or 28% was made up of single use containers and packaging (2018). In our pursuit for getting what we want through the path of least resistance we become accustomed to mindless consumption of packaging. Look around your neighborhood grocery store or local fast food restaurant and you will see everything from fruits and vegetables to a burger and fries all being sold in containers or packaging of some sort. While none of us set out to produce waste each day according to the EPA the average US consumer produces 4.9 pounds of trash a day (2018). With that being said: How can we redirect consumer convenience to reduce their consumption of single use packaging?
Solution:
To fully reduce consumption of single use packaging a system needs to be in place to address it at all levels. Relay addresses this through creating a system that allows for food to be transported in bulk at all stages until it reaches the consumer. This project addresses that at the bulk food and vending machine levels through the Universal Bucket and Relay Vending Machine Systems. Universal buckets are owned by the product producer (like the pallets that Coke and Pepsi Own to ship their beverages around) allowing the product producer to ship out their product on pallets to buyers and then have them shipped back once on the same pallets once the product has been used up or sold. Relay Vending Machines are stocked food and snacks sold in reusable containers charging consumers a deposit fee once they purchase the product and reimbursing them once they return the container. With seamless label switching on containers the vending machine operators can adjust what products they are selling seamlessly based on demand.
