codefordenver/projects

Denver Re:Imagine

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greglawless commented

State the Problem

The City of Denver provides recycling for multi-family buildings of 7 units or less, but does not provide recycling collection service for multi-family commercial buildings of 8 or more units. Recycling collection service for commercial buildings is the responsibility of the landlord. The landlord can coordinate private service through one of the various hauling contractors operating in Denver. However, the landlord is not obligated to provide the service.

Tenants have the ability to request that the service be provided. The City of Denver has a set of recommended steps and tips for making an effective request listed on their site, but more can be done to simplify the process for both the tenants and the landlord in order to increase the likelihood that requests come to fruition.

Why

Denver Recycles, a program of the City & County of Denver Public Works Department Solid Waste Management, is only authorized to provide services to residential homes of seven or fewer units and their own municipal facilities. Denver Recycles is not authorized to provide services to commercial properties such as businesses and apartment communities. The City does not provide any assistance or facilitation for requesting recycling from commercial landlords.

The tool would provide the missing facilitation that allows tenants to collectively petition their landlord to provide recycling or composting services through a simple and streamlined process. The tool would also provide the landlord with information to simplify the adoption of recycling services, such as individualized quotes from local hauling companies, an estimate of reduced trash load, and tips for managing the service.

We believe that the collective push of an entire building will be far more effective than a single tenant stopping in or sending an email, especially if the petition is supplemented with personal interaction. We also want to make the petition and request as visible and transparent as possible, so that all parties are fully aware of the status, cost, and outcome.

The tool will also track and map the success of petitions. This data will provide insight into the willingness of landlords to adopt recycling. The data could be used by the City or the public for a variety of analyses. For example, you will have the ability to determine the correlation between the cost of service and likelihood of adoption and calculate the most effective subsidy. Local citizens and activists can utilize the data to support an argument for new legislation regarding recycling requirements.

Potential Partner(s)?

Colorado Association for Recycling http://www.cafr.org/
Denver SWM (Potential conflict of interest according to director…)
Office of Sustainability (Jerry Tinianow)

Additional Background Context

Advertising: We intend to leverage the City or a local organization to advertise our product. We will also contact local media companies for coverage.

Details

The primary goal of the project is to provide tenants with the ability to transparently and collectively petition their landlord, through an automated and highly efficient process. The flow of the tool would be as follows:

  1. A tenant creates an online campaign to petition their landlord for recycling collection. Information regarding landlord contact details, building occupancy, existing waste capacity and hauling company, etc is collected. An 8.5" x 11" poster is generated for print and used to advertise the campaign in common areas of the building such as a lobby, mailroom, or hallway. The poster provides a link to the building’s campaign where tenants can access and sign their building's online petition. This link can also be electronically distributed if a channel is available.

  2. Tenants can track the progress of their petition.

  3. The collection companies will submit standardized bids specifically tailored to the building’s collection needs (size and schedule) through the tool.

  4. After a 1 or 2-week sign and comment period, the petition, along with supplemental information and resources, is delivered to the landlord either electronically, physically, or both. A copy will also be emailed to each tenant that signed the petition. The deliverable will include the following:

a. Statement regarding the benefits of recycling.
b. Signed petition highlighting the number and overall fraction of tenants requesting recycling collection.
c. An informational guide on available service providers and tips, including how to calculate the reduction in trash collection services if recycling is adopted. The landlord will also be provided with a set of recent tailored bids from local collection companies.
5. The landlord then reviews the deliverable and commits to providing recycling collection for the building or denies the request. He or she will have the ability to respond to tenants through the tool.
6. If successful, the tenants and landlord will be sent a guide on how to properly recycle. If not, then the app will inform them of alternative options such as the nearest centralized collection point.
7. Data will be collected and mapped to visualize the adoption or denial of recycling collection. The data will be utilized to measure the efficacy of the tool, and provided to the public for their use.

Links
Repo: https://github.com/codefordenver/Circular
Waffle Board: https://waffle.io/codefordenver/Circular

Stage Checklists

Complete checklists for each stage in process before moving forward

Idea Phase (pre-pitch)

  • Have an idea/problem
  • Complete initial validation checklist:
    • Focused on helping the community
    • We work "with" not "for"
    • Projects that are reusable
    • Not illegal
    • Not promoting a particular political party or religious group
    • Not antagonistic to government
    • Not "free work"
  • Fill out top of this card with problem statement, why, etc.
  • Coordinate with CfD member to get pitch on agenda for pitch night (first Monday of the month)

Pitching Phase

  • Move card to Pitches/Presentation list in waffle if you are presenting tonight
  • Present to group (3 min limit)
  • Group Q&A (3 min - if there is additional questions that can happen in the follow up pomodoro)
  • Initial vote on whether ready for Exploration Phase.
    • Cards that are voted ready should get "Pitched - Accepted" label
    • One pomodoro for further discussion around any cards that were not determined quite ready for Exploration. Presenter should be ready to discuss, answer any questions, and revise pitch.
    • Quick update after pomodoro from presenters
  • Group determines next step in final vote:
    • a) Idea needs more development (card is moved back to Ideas list with label “Needs development”
    • b) Idea is accepted but group doesn’t have resources to take on right now (card stays in pitch column with label “Pitched - Accepted”)
    • c) Idea is accepted and group has the capacity to take on (ie, the team is under the WIP limit for taking on projects)
  • If outcome c) is determined:
    • a) Identify project champion
    • b) Create project waffle board from Project Bootstrapper
  • If the above steps cannot be completed, then the project outcome should actually be B above, and project card stays in Pitches list with label “Pitched - Accepted”

Exploration Phase

This phase involves no actual building (e.g. programming), and requires you have a project champion

  • Create new project repo and waffle board with: https://cfd-new.herokuapp.com/
  • Follow pre-populated waffle board steps to:
    • Validate the problem is worth solving, and hasn't already been addressed
    • Discover and connect with your users
    • Connect with experts and partners
    • Brainstorm solutions
    • Paper prototype
    • Validate paper prototype design is actually useful
    • Define a testable MVP
    • Prepare a pitch for Active Development
    • Identify project tech lead (if applicable)
  • The pitch acceptance process to move into Active Development is the same as for the Pitching Phase

Active Development Phase

Active development is where a team invests in developing an minimum viable product (MVP), and then based on the feedback iterates and continues development.