We discovered the myriad feelings surrounding the problem using:

• 150 User Surveys

• 4 Custodian Interviews

• 5 Facilities Manager Interviews

• 7 Low-Fidelity Prototypes

This led to quotes like:

• ”There’s an expected honor system for the first [person] to open the bag for next [person] - feel like not many people know this.” - Custodian

• “[Cleaning up these bins] is just nasty… I don’t even want to look at my own waste.” - Custodian

Define the brief using anecdotal evidence

Every gender-neutral or women’s public restroom stall has is a disposal bin for used pads and tampons. These are often brimming with waste leading to:

• user disgust, shame, confusion, etc.

• custodian disgust at having to clean the bins out manually

• facility management frustration at flushed pads clogging pipes

We deliberated on our own independent experiences with the topic, the first of which being:

In 7th grade summer camp, all of my cabinmates were told “until these sanitary napkin bins are cleaned, no one is going anywhere.” After a silent 2 minutes, I volunteered to clean out the bins for other people’s period waste. It was… traumatizing. That experience led me to work on this project without hesitation.

My team of 5 and I developed 3 rounds of prototypes from low to high fidelity

I was responsible for overall form and mechatronic usability, while others were responsible for tasks like construction, material selection, and programming.

A year later, after taking the project on with a new team member, I created the fourth round of prototypes using CAD and additive manufacturing.

After prototype 3, we delivered the result to the consumers and custodians, leading to
quotes like:

• “I love the design. [It’s] sleek. It’s really nice. Seems user friendly.” - consumer

• “Oh, housekeeping is gonna LOVE this!” - custodian

• “I like this, much better [than the current bins]. I’m really excited. I hope this will be in toilets [stalls] everywhere.” - custodian

• “The size is perfect. It’s easy to work too. And some people don’t like to touch their own stuff, so this is great.” - consumer

• “I didn’t have to lift anything, this is already a good thing...Thats the genius of it, I don’t have to touch it” - consumer