TireRevive
User Researcher Service Designer Mobile & Web UI Designer
Timeline —
Sep. 2024 - Nov. 2024
Collaborator —
Role —
Tools —
Figma Rhino Blender Photoshop
Individual Project
"Tire Revive" is a comprehensive service design that aims to address the problem of illegal tire dumping, while promoting land remediation efforts and raising awareness.
This service design leverages a app and a web platform to streamline the reporting and recycling of discarded tires for land remediation.
The mobile app allows users to report illegal tire dumping and exchange them for land restoration, simplifying the task for farmers and citizens. The web platform connects community agencies with waste recycling companies: the community gives the company scrap tires, and the company sells remediation to the community.
01. Background Research
During my time as a college student in Pittsburgh, I became increasingly aware of the growing issue of illegal tire dumping throughout the city. I frequently came across discarded tires in vacant lots, wooded areas, and along roadside ditches during my daily commute and neighborhood walks. Curious and concerned, I started reading local news coverage and environmental reports — it was a systemic issue impacting urban health and infrastructure.
This practice not only degrades the natural environment but also poses serious risks to public health and community well-being by accumulating waste, and polluting waterways.
These findings prompted me to investigate further: Why is this happening, and how might design intervene to address both the root causes and public awareness of this issue?
01. The Problem
As I delved deeper into the issue of tire dumping, I wanted to understand not only its visual and environmental impact, but also its broader consequences for public health, food safety, and urban infrastructure.
02. Problem Context
How will tires influence us? How serious is this problem in Pittsburgh?
Tires are among the most frequently discarded items, and when they break down into particles, they release heavy metals into the soil.
On the negative sides…
On the positive sides…
Treated tires have multiple uses that can benefit farmers and support agricultural growth.
“Tires being pulverized into small pieces are important alternative materials for amending the soil and thus increases soil quality conditions for supporting plant growth” (William and Shenker, 2016)
“The limited research in this area suggests that tire chips are also effective as adsorptive materials in removing Pb and Cu ions” (Shahrokhi-Shahraki, 2020)
Who dump? Why dump? I concluded three major groups from online data and interview.
Citizen: Don’t know how to legally dispose it.
Company: Don't want to pay a lot of money for legal disposal.
Retailers: Collecting a disposal fee but still illegally dispose it.
After identifying the scale and impact of tire dumping in Pittsburgh, I began exploring how existing organizations are addressing the issue.
While several entities are involved in cleanup and remediation, my research revealed clear limitations that prevent these efforts from being truly effective or accessible.
03. Current Solution
Environmental Protection Agency
Sell the remediation toolkit: User identify problems &solutions
Technology matrix: screens restoration technologies
However…
They have limited resources
Only help with remediation, not cleaning
Information is too complex
Allegheny CleanWays
Conduct weekly volunteer cleanups
Provide a map of all dumping sites
Citizens can easily find reporting channel
However…
Map on the website doesn’t have a localization function
Too much specialized information to provide when reporting
Pittsburgh Government
Have weekly cleanup and state soil remediation
Organized by the government, recruit volunteers
Help repair the land
However…
Lack of advertisement of the reporting phone number
Handling of illegal tires and land restoration are not linked & hard to find on the official website
04. Summary
Throughout my research and field observations, I realized that while several groups are working to address tire dumping, existing solutions fall short in accessibility, usability, and impact. The information is often too technical, the reporting systems are fragmented, and the cleanup efforts aren’t widely visible or well-coordinated.
“How might we create an easy-to-use, convenient, and thorough process to address tire dumping and other related soil problems?”
This question reflects the core motivation behind my design exploration — to bridge the gap between fragmented solutions and the needs of everyday residents.
02. Field Research
After identifying gaps in existing solutions, I wanted to better understand how everyday citizens perceive the issue of tire dumping and soil contamination. To do so, I conducted a comprehensive questionnaire with 61 participants, aiming to uncover knowledge gaps, pain points, and public attitudes.
01. Questionnaire
“Don’t know where to report.”
“I don't want to spend time trying to figure out how to report and report it.”
“More general information about it and why it' important to solve.”
These quotes further emphasize the usability gap in current reporting systems, which reinforces my earlier findings and the urgent need for a simpler, clearer solution.
While the questionnaire helped reveal general public attitudes, I wanted to dive deeper into the perspectives of those most directly impacted by soil contamination. Given that tire dumping often occurs near agricultural zones, farmers are not only bystanders — they’re stakeholders.
To gain more grounded, experience-based insight, I conducted three interviews with local farmers in Pittsburgh. These conversations explored how illegal dumping affects their land, what support they currently receive, and what gaps exist in the system.
02. Interview
03. Synthesis and Analysis
To make sense of the 76 insights gathered through surveys and interviews, I synthesized them into 11 themes across 5 main groups. This helped me move from scattered observations to actionable design directions.
01. Affinity Clustering
Through this process, I identified recurring patterns……
People are particularly interested in seeing the city's impact, especially in areas close to them
People need comprehensive & easy-to-understand impact information
Farmer & Community want visualized public data that shows the current situation & tech to help organize volunteer
People need customized guidance to better address the problem
People need a easy system to report and guide them on how to solve the problem
People need coherent guideline (cleanup - treatment - prevention)
People need customization: different service for different case
Farmer want community rather than government
Farmers want the community to help, not the government, because they don't want the government to interfere with agricultural production.
Community & Citizen want online communication system & platform
Farmer & Community & Recycle company want easy communication channel
People need trackable process for clean-up & remediation to increase efficiency
Community want collaboration with others to raise attention / reuse the tire
Community want long-term collaboration with waste recycle company for tire treatment & create products with tire
Community want public organization raise awareness with multiple ways (education / online news / reward)
02. Persona
After organizing the key themes from my research, I needed to understand the goals, frustrations, and motivations of the people most affected by this issue. To do so, I created two personas to represent distinct user types based on the patterns I observed.
These personas help illustrate the contrasting but complementary perspectives of residents and public officials. By focusing on both Jeffery, a local farmer, and James, a city council officer, I could better align design decisions with real user needs — from accessible education to scalable civic engagement strategies.
Building on the personas, I created a user journey map to further explore how key users interact with the tire dumping and soil remediation process. This map visualizes the steps, emotions, and questions that arise across different stages — before, during, and after tire dumping. By combining research insights with storytelling, these maps highlight opportunities for solution design.
03. User Journey Map
04. Design Concept
After mapping out users’ journeys and identifying their unmet needs, I translated those insights into core design values that would guide solution development. These values directly respond to user frustrations—such as confusion, lack of follow-up, and disconnection between dumping and remediation—and reframe them as opportunities.
01. Ideation
Simplified reporting process, citizens can now report the illegal tire they saw in a few steps on app. Web for municipalities and waste management.
Easy
Reporting, cleaning & soil remediation become a connected experience.
Thorough
Enjoyable
Reward system give people a sense of accomplishment and fun during illegal tire dumping.
Sustainable
Collected tires can be reused in the daily lives of citizens, saving the community huge costs in tire processing
To transform the ideation into a scalable solution, I mapped out how the system could evolve from a linear model into a more sustainable, community-driven ecosystem.
02. System Map
Before: Linear solution model
After: Circular Sustainable Solution Model
To bring the circular system model to life, I created a service blueprint that breaks down how front-end users (citizens and community organizers) and back-end stakeholders (recycling companies and technology systems) collaborate at each stage.
This blueprint maps out the entire service flow—from reporting illegal dumping to receiving soil remedies—highlighting the tools, technologies, and interactions that make the system work seamlessly.
03. Service Blueprint
05. Integrated Design Solutions
To support the service system with practical infrastructure, I explored the physical process behind tire treatment. I designed a simplified machine to streamline the tire recycling workflow. The machine consists of three core parts—a cutter, a crusher, and a magnetic separator—each of which handles a stage in the process of transforming waste tires into fine powder. This powder can then be repurposed into soil remedies, as research shows that tire powder has positive effects in certain circumstances.
01. Hardware Design
Final Model
Building on users’ needs for clarity, accessibility, and engagement identified in earlier research, I structured both the app and website to serve different but complementary roles.
The app supports individual citizens by focusing on learning, reporting, support, and rewards—reflecting their desire for actionable guidance and motivation.
The web platform, tailored for communities and local organizations, emphasizes data monitoring, report tracking, and operational coordination—addressing the system-level gaps uncovered during field interviews.
This dual-structure ensures the service is both personal and scalable.
02. App & Web Information Architecture
APP
Web
After establishing the structure through information architecture, I translated it into a mid-fidelity prototype to visualize how users would actually interact with the service.
The APP caters toward 2 main user flows
Report case
Report follow-up
The web caters toward 1 main user flow
Report case tracking
To validate these designs, I conducted two rounds of user testing, which primarily highlighted the need for clearer guidance on the current stage and next steps.
03. Interface Development
User testing suggestions:
Report history at the start report page is currently too small and unclear; providing additional access to view and track reported cases could improve transparency and usability.
When scanning, users want to understand the reason behind a failed scan.
Some users prefer not to share their home address due to privacy concerns.
Where can users check their saved drafts?
Final mid-fidelity interfaces and user flows.
Building on the refined user flows, I further detailed core app features to directly support reporting, remediation, and engagement.
04. APP Feature
Fleshed out solutions for dumping and remediation
Provide features to advertise the problem, reward system and platform for sharing experiences
The reporting process has fewer steps and the user no longer has to enter a lot of information by hand
Users can easily track the status of their reports
Streamlined reporting process
Community has map to easily organize each case and check the overall seriousness of illegal dumping in the city
Streamlining Community Efforts
05. Web Feature
To illustrate how the app fits into real-world use, I created a user scenario demonstrating its core features in action.
06. User Scenario
06. Final Reflection
This project provided an opportunity to explore how design can bridge the gap between environmental issues and public engagement. One key takeaway is the importance of identifying gaps, whether in systems, communication, or user experience, and seeking unexpected connections across them. These connections may help frame a new solution.
Looking ahead, I hope to expand this work by testing it with a more diverse group of users, refining the digital and physical touchpoints, and exploring collaboration opportunities with municipal or grassroots partners. I’m also interested in exploring partnerships with local governments and waste companies to pilot the system on a small scale.
01. Takeaways + Possibilities