Metroway

MetroWay was a group project submission in which I worked with Carla Ramírez, Bryan Wong, Cody Miller, and Daniel Penge. As a group, we were all integrally involved in all aspects of the project. 

The high-traffic commuter system of New York City inspired us to devise a thoughtful Cradle to Cradle product that emphasizes material choice, improves recovery of material stock, and instils regenerative solutions through a Circular Economic Model. The proposal for the next generation of the MTA’s MetroCard, tilted the MetroWay, introduces a new manifesto for better manufacturing practices, and stands as an example of how Cradle to Cradle ideals could impact 7 million people on a daily basis.

The MetroWay uses a contactless RFID/NFC tag that links to a personalized account where users add funds via internet, smartphone app, or the traditional MTA ticketing machine. By creating a refillable pass, not incapacitated by the expiration of a magnetic strip, we extended the longevity of an object previously thought of as disposable.

 Through creative design thinking, we developed a method of assembly and disassembly, where strategic embossing and die cutting allow for the separation of materials into their individual nutrient cycles. Other contactless RFID/NFC cards currently exist, but MetroWay introduces an innovative design that eliminates the permanent fusing of unlike material, rejecting a linear product model and monstrous hybrids.

The MetroWay is implemented in three key phases. We ultimately endorse NatureWork’s INGEO bioplastic (a C2C Silver Certified material) to house the MetroWay’s RFID/NFC tag, however the infrastructure for composting biopolymers does not currently exist in New York City. In Phase 1, we suggest PETG be used as the housing material. PETG is currently recycled at the Sim’s Municipal Recycling Center in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. A large-scale NYC composting program is in its infancy and when the infrastructure required to break down biopolymers is fully developed, the MetroWay housing material can be easily changed. The MetroWay is specifically designed to evolve with emerging technologies in mind.