Who Did You Interview?
- High school friend
Demographics That Might Provide Helpful Context for Their Responses
- Female
- Age: 21
- From Russia
- Lives in Dubai
Key Findings from the Interview
- She has used a composting heap before so she is familiar with the process.
- A main concern is the ability to easily compost in an apartment setting without generating various smells.
Below are the (slightly shortened) original answers to the questions:
- Can you share your experience with managing organic waste at home? Do you deal with it a lot at home? What challenges have you faced from it?
Answer: Back in Russia, my family had a big garden where we composted our kitchen waste, but when we moved to Dubai, this was a bit difficult to continue due to our apartment living situation.
- Tell me about the last time you used a product (or service) to reduce the impact of organic waste in your home.
Answer: I'm conscious about reducing waste, so I often try to purchase products with little packaging and I also use reusable shopping bags. But for organic waste, there aren't many services or products available in Dubai that are convenient and suitable for apartment living.
- Can you describe how important sustainability and the use of eco-friendly methods in agriculture is to you, and why?
Answer: Having seen the effects of pollution first-hand in both Russia and Dubai, sustainability is very important to me. I'm also concerned about the water pollution caused by regular farming practices.
- What are your hopes and expectations for a product such as a compact composting system in terms of reducing the use of harsh fertilizers?
Answer: My main hope for a product like a compact composting system would be the potential to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill. I also hope it could be easy to use and doesn’t make a bad smell like in Russia.
- Have you ever used a composting system before? If yes, what were the positive and negative aspects of your experience? If not, what barriers or concerns might have kept you from trying?
Answer: We had a compost heap in our garden back in Russia, but I’m guessing it's very different from a compact system. My experience was mostly positive as it reduced waste and helped our garden grow, but the process was quite slow, and sometimes it attracted insects.
- Are there any fears or concerns you might have regarding the use of composting systems or similar products in terms of efficiency, cleanliness, or other factors? Can you elaborate on these concerns?
Answer: My main concern about using a composting system in an apartment is the insects that might come since I hate insects.