Students will launch the project by sorting realistic campus, shipboard, and port waste examples, surfacing first assumptions about disposal pathways and pollution impacts, and committing to an evidence-based investigation of which waste system should change first.

Students will gather and analyze direct user evidence from classmates and campus/ship/port contexts, then organize that evidence into an empathy-focused artifact that identifies needs, misconceptions, constraints, and likely pollution impacts to inform later solution design.

Students will turn research and empathy evidence into a tested recommendation by drafting a design brief, building a low-fidelity waste-system solution, gathering stakeholder-style feedback in two rounds, and revising their claim, prototype, and presentation materials before the final showcase phase.

Students will present a polished public recommendation at the Harbor Change Summit, defend their waste-system tradeoffs with evidence from campus, shipboard, and port contexts, and capture final reflection through a before-and-after concept map and brief community-style debrief.