Re-turn
Solo Project | 3 Months | 2025
Re-turn is Ireland’s national Deposit Return Scheme and since being introduced has delivered significant environmental benefits by boosting recycling rates and reducing litter throughout Ireland. Currently the ways in which the public can donate their Re-Turn refunds is inaccessible to most people, as the donate option is only available at select machines and donation fundraisers are often private.
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This project aimed to explore how Re-turn can extend it’s community impact by developing a digital donation concept that enables consumers to donate their refunds to charities and track the impact of their contributions.
Discovery
First, I carried out a survey with 121 participants. This helped me understand peoples motivations, donation habits, and interest in using an app to digitalise the return experience.
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I then carried out interviews with 4 people who regularly recycle using Re-Turn to gain deeper insight into user experiences, motivations, and frustrations when returning bottles and cans and to explore donation habits and potential app features.
Affinity Map
I synthesised findings from surveys and interviews into an affinity map, identifying key themes and grouping insights. From this, I extracted opportunities and highlighted five key design opportunities to guide the project.
Competitor Analysis
I conducted a competitor analysis of both direct and indirect competitors to identify strengths, weaknesses, and design opportunities. I performed a full heuristic evaluation of MyTomra and assessed key heuristics for the other direct competitors.
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For indirect competitors, I explored apps outside the recycling. I focused on four key areas gamification, donation, receipt tracking, and digital banking. Insights from all apps were organised into strengths and feature inspiration.
Key Research Insights
Define
Design Decision
Research revealed that users are primarily motivated by convenience and control over their refunds. Many found it difficult to keep track of paper receipts and wanted a simple digital alternative.
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To design for real user motivations, the focus shifted toward creating an app that allows users to manage and combine refunds digitally, while also encouraging donations through a more engaging experience.
Persona
I created two personas representing the key user groups identified during research. John represents users primarily motivated by refunds and saving money, while Emily represents eco-conscious users who recycle small amounts out of environmental responsibility.
Customer Journey Maps
I created As-Is and To-Be customer journey maps to identify friction points in the existing experience, which directly informed early design decisions around simplifying key flows and clarifying handoff moments.
JTBD
I defined key Jobs to Be Done and mapped them against a prioritisation matrix, which helped me focus design efforts on the most impactful user needs and informed which features were carried forward into ideation.
Problem Statement
How might we create a simple and engaging digital experience that lets users easily manage and redeem refunds while building trust, showing personal impact, and motivating continued recycling and donation?
Develop
Based on the prioritisation matrix, I selected three flows to develop: donation, redeem, and environmental impact tracking. I quickly mapped out these flows and began sketching wireframes, exploring potential elements for each page. After sketching wireframes, I created mid-fidelity prototypes to refine information hierarchy, layout, and user flows.
Deliver
Prototyping
Once the content and information hierarchy were defined, I applied the brand guidelines, incorporating colour, icons, design elements, and animations into a Figma prototype which I then began testing with users.
Usability Testing
Usability testing was conducted to evaluate whether users could clearly understand and complete the core flows: redeeming funds, donating money, and interpreting their personal environmental impact. I tested with 5 users who were familiar with the Re-turn system through moderated remote usability sessions.
Because users were unsure whether their full receipt amount would be donated after seeing the options “Donate” and “Add to wallet,” I refined the UX writing and flow to first confirm the amount added to the wallet and then present clear next actions (“Choose amount to donate” or “Return home”). This improved clarity around fund allocation and reduced hesitation at this step.
Because users consistently skipped the “choose amount” step on the redeem page and moved directly to payout selection, even with additional instructional copy, I split the flow into two sequential screens separating amount selection from payout. This reduced cognitive load and improved task completion time. I then aligned the donation flow with the updated redeem experience by including the available balance and simplifying the suggested amounts for consistency.
Prototype
Measuring Success
The primary measure of success for this project would be increased donation behavior. This would include a higher conversion rate from wallet balance to donation, increased average donation amounts, and repeat donation frequency over time. Secondary metrics such as reduced task completion time and engagement with environmental impact feedback would help validate whether the design effectively supports and motivates donation decisions.
References
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/donation-usability/
https://www.productplan.com/glossary/2x2-prioritization-matrix/
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/problem-statements/
https://medium.com/h7w/how-ux-culture-shapes-digital-wallet-experiences-5592d3814b25