Inclusive waste separation: co-designed bins empowering visually impaired individuals

The key findings of the study include a new design for innovative separation waste bins that shift from using colours to incorporating auditory signals. Furthermore, the evaluation results reveal that the development of innovative separation waste bins in collaboration with end-users yields exceptional results that enhance usability, user-friendliness and mitigate potential barriers. This culminates in a remarkably high level of satisfaction among users (mean = 4.55, SD = 0.438). This new waste separation is recognised as an innovative solution (patent No. 17547) for visually impaired individuals empowering them to participate actively in waste separation, while the research findings also hold policy implications that promote the integration of inclusive design principles into public infrastructure and services.