A New Way to Recycle Online.
Target Audience: Anyone who recycles or would like to recycle.
Website URL: https://ecycler.com/
Feedback sought:
- Do you find the site intuitive? Meaning, upon arrival to ecycler.com, is it obvious as to what the site is all about?
- We would love some suggestions on the registration process.
About ecycler:
Ecycler provides an alternative to the many U.S. (and Canadian) households, institutions or businesses that are not offered curb-side recycling. It’s also an option for people who have to pay for curb-side recycling or who want to have their recyclables picked up when and where they desire.
For the individual (or group) collecting recyclables, ecycler provides an entrepreneurship opportunity. Ecycler is driven by the collectors who establish an ecycler recycling program in their community. Collectors can download personalized business cards and posters generated by ecycler.com and then post them in public places. Collector accounts also include a customizable ecycler URL, i.e., their profile page. Anyone who has access to the Internet can become an ecycler collector.
Discarders can do their part for the environment while at the same time helping collectors in need of additional income. The discarders’ recyclables are “collected†by these individuals or groups and redeemed for cash at a local recycling center. Ecycler supports this community building for groups such as the Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, Church groups, social clubs, etc. by making available the same marketing materials used by individual collectors on ecycler.com.
Ecycler encourages people to discard their recyclables for free. Discarders can track their carbon credits on the site. In addition to the automated calculation of materials recycled though ecycler.com, discarders have the option of listing how many recyclables they’ve given away on their own to be included in their total.
Ecycler also provides an accountability tool by allowing collectors and discarders to rate their experiences with one another.
I think it’s very cool that this company allows you to schedule a time and place to pick up recyclables.. reasons for which people who are cleaning parks or road sides can have the iteams (such as bottles and newspaper) picked up when they’re done. It’s such an encouragement for people to get out there and clean up our streets and parks witht the comfort of knowing the recyclable trash can be picked up where ever they prefer.
Its commendable to see that at last some initiative is been taken to stem the flood of garbage that resides on our streets. But using the WWW as a medium is sort of a win/lose isn’t it?
The sight conveys the Idea of what is to be done and the features provided. Though a very thorough scan of the site reveals many loopholes in the overall design and interface.
The choice of colors is commendable as the light blues go well with the greens and as green and blue are earth colors (represent water and greenery ie. seas and forests) they make a good first impression for everyone. The stark glaring line of grass in the bottom of the page is a good move but the contrast and brightness of the images are too high giving strain after prolonged exposure. The line of grass also draws a potential registrant’s attention AWAY from the overall message provided in the registration page.
I would suggest softening the colors of the grass or even using bitmaps instead of real pics.
The decision to divide the registration into 2 parts is very educated and wise. It is also pronounced on the page.. which is a good thing. These types of initiatives need to be taken and I applaud the effort and rate it very highly
From the first glance of the website it looks very well put together. The colors (blue and green) make me feel earthy. I felt like it was play on earth and water, very calming. I really liked the banner at the top with the recycling bins and the two bottles that said register and take a tour.
I like how easy the website is set up. Its so simple and takes the guess work out of things. I also like the little pictures of each step. It make it look simple but it had a fun presentation. I think that the “how it works section should be moved above the See who has joined the ecycler recycling revolution.” Over all it is great to see a company taking the ball and running with recycling. I also like how you can swap recyclables. I have never seen that before and because it’s so easy, again you have taken the guess work out. I also like the cool site of the day award. I think that adds more attraction to the site.
A small detail that I liked was that when I opened the tab I noticed that it said “Collect.Connect. Recycle.” It’s simple and catchy. Three words thats says what your about. I also liked how the logo was throughout the pages. It was like a subliminal message making the ecycler image in your mind. Again I really enjoyed site.