Fixing Friction in Waste Exchange

Redesigning a B2B/B2C Platform to Simplify Material Listings, Improve Discoverability, and Encourage Circular Reuse

Overview

Collectero is a platform aimed at facilitating the exchange of reusable waste materials between individuals and businesses, promoting a circular economy. The goal was to design an intuitive, user-friendly interface that encourages participation and makes waste exchange as seamless as possible.

Objectives

• Enhance user engagement by simplifying the waste listing process.

• Increase successful exchanges by improving discoverability and communication features.

• Promote sustainable practices through an accessible digital platform

Methodes

• Stakeholder Interviews

• Competitive Analysis

• Platform Walkthroughs

• User Personas

• HMW Statements

• Flow Mapping

• Feedback Loops (from early users and past pilot team)

Impact

Through early testing with 5 users, we identified and removed key friction points in the listing and matching process.

• Listing ease score improved from 2.4 to 3.6 after cutting 2 steps and adding confirmation feedback

• 4 out of 5 users successfully completed all tasks, up from 3 in the first round

• Search and profile flows were rated 3.8–4.2, but users still needed more clarity on post-match steps

This round helped us shift focus from simply offering features to making sure they actually work for people.

PROBLEM

While the idea behind Collectero is strong, the current app experience makes it harder than it should be to participate. Users feel unsure about what steps are required to list or find materials, and often wonder whether they’ve completed a task properly.

The flow lacks confirmation points, filters are confusing, and there’s no clear feedback after matching. As a result, people drop off, hesitate to engage, or simply don’t return. The app’s good intention gets lost in a clunky experience.

Wait, where do I even begin?

Why It Matters for Circular Design

Inefficiencies in current waste exchange platforms aren’t just annoying—they actively block circular economy efforts. Users trying to give away usable materials often drop off halfway through the process, either due to unclear steps, lack of feedback, or poor discoverability. And when waste isn’t reused in time, it often loses its value entirely.

By solving these issues, Collectero can improve engagement, reduce waste loss, and make local reuse a more realistic behavior—both environmentally and economically.

1. Field Observation (Founder Insight)
Mo, the founder of Collectero, saw firsthand how Lille’s waste system couldn’t keep up with household sorting efforts. Valuable materials ended up dumped or incinerated simply because the system lacked a way to quickly redistribute them.

2. Platform Feedback
Initial testers of the MVP (5 users) reported feeling confused about what to do next after listing or searching. Tasks like “posting a material” or “finding a request” had an average clarity rating of 2.8/5, pointing to usability gaps that directly affect platform trust.

3. Circular Economy Studies
Studies on reuse behavior in Europe highlight that timing and information clarity are two of the biggest blockers for waste reuse. Platforms that don’t solve this lose both B2B and B2C participation—weakening the very system they’re meant to support.

Take out trash at 9am? What if we work?

“Still no pickup on Rue Faidherbe today…”

Overflowing bins on Rue d’Amiens

Who Collectero Really Serves

Through persona research, we identified 4 key stakeholder types who can benefit from Collectero:

• Small business owners looking to give away excess materials

• Individuals searching for affordable resources

• Sustainability-minded citizens eager to reduce waste

• Municipal coordinators overwhelmed by inefficient collection systems

Each brought forward a unique set of pain points — from unclear disposal options to missed reuse opportunities.
By studying their struggles, we uncovered design gaps that go beyond the app and touch real urban waste dynamics.
These personas shaped how we prioritized clarity, urgency, and trust in the product experience.

👩‍🍳 Amélie – Local Café Owner (B2B)

Context: Small business owner in Lille’s center

Pain points: Even though she separates packaging waste, the city doesn’t pick it up on time. Materials pile up, and she ends up paying for disposal.

What we learn:
There’s a need for a faster, direct way to pass reusable materials to others — before they become “trash.”

👨‍🔧 Ben – Construction Worker (B2C)

Context: Works on small projects, always on the lookout for leftover materials

Pain Points: No urgency indicators (e.g. “expires soon, or will be thrown away in 24 hours”)

What we learn:
Improve search filtering, add urgency labels.

👩‍🎓 Linda – Sustainability Student (C2C / Enthusiast)

Context: Lives in shared housing, frequently reuses and donates
Pain Points: Gets overwhelmed by how much sorted waste still ends up in landfills. She wants to help but doesn’t know where to start.

What we learn:

Design better post-match feedback, status updates, and simple messaging to close the loop.

🧑‍💼 Jean – Municipal Waste Coordinator (Public Sector Stakeholder)

Context: Works for Lille Métropole, managing local collection schedules and service quality
Pain points: Struggles with overloaded collection routes, delayed pickups, and illegal dumping in high-traffic areas.

What we learn:
City services could benefit from a tool like Collectero to offload reusable materials before they enter the municipal waste stream — reducing pressure on logistics and improving public satisfaction.

After analyzing platforms like EME, Recita, Geocycle, and One Planet Network, we identified key friction points that Collectero could directly address. These insights helped us focus not just on what was missing—but also on what was realistically fixable within our scope.

By mapping these pain points against impact and development effort, we created a decision-making framework to guide product direction:

• For example, platforms like EME required too many listing steps—so we prioritized streamlining the flow as a high-impact, low-effort task.

• The lack of user guidance post-match across platforms revealed a gap in trust and follow-through, which informed our decision to build clear status feedback.

• On the other hand, complex AI features (used in Recita and EME) felt premature and unhelpful during testing—leading us to treat them as high-effort features only worth doing if they truly enhanced the core flow.

FINAL DESIGN

Clearer Flow, Faster Matches, and Smarter Waste Exchange

The redesigned homepage brings core actions—List Waste, Find Materials, and Match Nearby—to the forefront, reducing cognitive load and decision time. Listing is now faster, with fewer required fields and clearer prompts.
Users can preview matches and take action without needing to sign up first, offering more control and lowering the barrier to entry. Subtle UI changes like progress feedback, category icons, and simplified map filters help users feel more in control—whether they’re giving or getting.

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