Nurdle Collection
Engineering Design
Project Title: Improving Nurdle Detection and Collection Processes Along Ontario Shorelines
Client: A Greener Future
Type: Engineering Product Design
Responsibilities: Project management, communication and design assessment
Background:
Engineering Science at University of Toronto is one of the most distinguished engineering programs in the world.
For 7+ years, I was a Communications Instructor for its 1st year undergraduate course entitled 'Praxis' where I led engineering design teams through the design process of problem-framing, prototyping, and final product presentation.
In 2023, I led 8 engineering design teams on a project for 'A Greener Future' (AGF), an environmental non-profit, who sought designs to help volunteers detect and collect nurdles.
Opportunity Framing:
Nurdles are microplastics (<5mm) that are found in water sources due to numerous factors such as mishandling in manufacturing processes.
AGF hosts 'nurdle hunts' where volunteers comb different areas of the Toronto lakeshore collecting nurdles and other plastics/debris.
To collect the nurdles, volunteers would squat or kneel down, picking nurdles by hand which can cause physical strain and discomfort. Moreover, the process becomes long and tedious, as nurdles are hard to detect in beachfront environments.
Nurdle Hunt & Prototype Testing
In Apr. 2023, I organized a nurdle hunt at Toronto's Sunnyside beach bringing together representatives from AGF and 8 engineering teams. The teams constructed low to mid-fi prototypes which they tested with our stakeholders in a real world, nurdle collection scenario.
Reps from AGF explaining the process of nurdle collection.
Students assembling their nurdle collection prototype.
A beautiful morning spent cleaning-up Toronto's lakefront.
Reps from AGF explaining the process of nurdle collection.
Design Showcase
The semester long project concluded with my teams presenting their final designs in a showcase at University of Toronto's Hart House. Their design choices had to be defended against questions waged by me and a fellow engineer who was unfamiliar with the project. Below are some images of the showcase space and some examples of the supporting documents used for their designs.
