Korean airport policy: Drag your trash away!

Of the few occasions that I happened to travel by plane, I noticed a new initiative project within Korean airports.

Many of the airports located in Korea are well-known for their clean management and organized system. The indoor environment of the airports are designed to promote cleanliness. Trees and other smaller plants placed inside can be seen, freshening the air.

Among these implementations, the newest and most impressive is the suitcase – trashcan initiative. During my latest visits to these airports, I found that all the trashcans had been replaced by suitcase shaped garbage bins.

Recycling – thus putting the right trash in the right place, has always taken up a large portion of environment conservation. Before we teach children about reducing factory waste, cleaning the natural environments of our planets, and getting rid of harmful gases, we first teach them to carry out basic actions. They need to learn to keep the environment around them clean in order to learn to spread out their conservation domain.

The environment around us contains urban civilization, and keeping this part of the world clean is just as important as cleaning the ecosystem. On top of that, promoting the action of recycling is highly beneficial for earth's resources.

Now, back to the suitcase-trashcan policy. How would these suitcases promote environment conservation? Well, let's look at the list below.

1.    Effective System

Unlike the small, puny little garbage bins that we utilize in our private homes, trashcans in public areas tend to be significantly larger in size. They are to hold more waste, due to the fact that more people trespass the area. The former trashcans in Korea's airports were mostly silver, stainless steel bins. Their lids were 360 degrees flip-flop style, and not removable from the body.

This made it harder to put in the inner plastic bags and remove them. Now, the suitcase design has an open mouth that is headed outwards. This is far more effective in terms of putting in and out both the inner plastic bags and trash.

Being designed as suitcases, they are also much easier to be moved from place to place. Wherever a new trashcan is most needed, people can simply drag the lighter cases into the spot.

Also, the suitcases are designed to be transparent. This matches with the clear spirit of eco-products and makes it effective as well. People can easily check the amount of trash stored inside the trashcans and replace them when they are full. An emphasized recycle mark with both Korean and English labels makes it clear to everyone that it is for trashing – an international banner of representation.                 

2.    Motivation

Although it may sound unbelievable, people can easily be motivated to carry out actions because of design. The designer of a certain product or area can bring in intentions to control the desires of its users. As people have started to pay more and more attention on the field of design, they are getting aware of its short and long term effects.

Products have been designed in order to suggest that they are superior to others, catching the minds of the consumers with creativity. This can also count for trashcan designs. Throughout the world, trashcans are located in both indoor and outdoor environments.

They are the most notable when their design theme suits their environment. For example, trashcans taking the shape of tree trunks could be placed in a park environment. On sideways of streets and cities, trashcans can mold into the current status and characteristics of the city's distinct environment.

Looking upon this, the airport is doing a fascinating job on the field of design and conservation. The theme of the airport can be reflected into its suitcase-shape.

i)             People remember the design:

Many people were interested in the creative design of the suitcase-trashcans. By doing so, their brains remember the trashcan and where it is located. Automatically, when they have trash to throw away, they don't litter. They remember the trashcans, and know that they don't have to move far to get there. This leads to the action of recycling the trash in the right place.

ii)            People are interested:

Remember that airports consist of people who travel in business purposes, but a lot of the passengers are tourists. When they are in excitement of leaving or arriving to a new country to have fun, they want to look around and experience as much as they can. Surprisingly, during touring, small things can catch their mind.

 In addition, the first thing they do when they start traveling is to scan the area with their eyes. Trashcans shaped like suitcases would surely be an attraction. (even for non-tourists) A peculiar, creative design would motivate people to use it rather than a dull one.

For these reasons, the suitcase-trashcan is a highly environmental, eco-friendly product. It considers the inner environment and the theme of the airport and supports the international clean spirit of travelers. Moreover, its sole purpose is to recycle: processing waste products so that they can be used again.

Other than trashcans, designers all around the world are focusing on eco-friendliness nowadays. Why not think of your own creative ideas that would promote the conservation of your own region?