Independent Project
2026
EcoTrack
A digital environmental sanitation platform designed to help communities report sanitation issues, locate public toilets, access environmental education and track reported problems
Overview
Cleaner Spaces, Healthier Lagos
EcoTrack is a digital environmental sanitation platform conceptualised to address sanitation challenges in Lagos, Nigeria.
The idea was inspired by my personal observations of unsanitary public spaces, open defecation and improper waste disposal during visits to Lagos. These experiences highlighted the need for more accessible ways for residents to report sanitation issues, locate public facilities and become more informed about environmental hygiene.
EcoTrack brings these needs together through four core features: Report, Find, Learn and Track.
The goal is to encourage community participation, improve access to sanitation information and support cleaner, healthier communities through technology.
Problem
The Sanitation Challenge
Poor environmental sanitation remains a significant challenge in many urban communities. During my visits to Lagos, I observed issues such as open defecation, improper waste disposal and unsanitary public spaces.
Beyond the visible environmental impact, these problems raise concerns about public health, community wellbeing and access to basic sanitation facilities.
One challenge is the limited accessibility of reliable information about nearby public toilets and appropriate waste-disposal services. Residents may also lack convenient channels to report sanitation problems and follow up on their resolution.
These observations highlighted an opportunity to explore how technology could make sanitation information more accessible, encourage responsible community participation and improve communication around environmental issues.
Research
Understanding Community Needs
The research phase was guided by personal observations of sanitation conditions in Lagos and an exploration of the everyday challenges residents face in maintaining clean public spaces.
I identified four key areas that the proposed solution needed to address:
Reporting accessibility: Residents need a convenient way to report open defecation, illegal waste dumping and dirty public spaces.
Access to facilities: Finding nearby public toilets and sanitation services should be easier.
Sanitation awareness: Accessible educational resources can help residents understand proper hygiene, waste disposal and relevant sanitation regulations.
Report visibility: Residents need a way to monitor the progress of issues they have reported.
These findings informed EcoTrack's four core features: Report, Find, Learn and Track.
The research helped establish a user-centred direction for the platform, focusing on accessibility, awareness and community participation.
Ideation
Turning Challenges into Solution
Following the identification of key sanitation challenges, I explored how a simple and accessible digital platform could help residents participate more actively in improving their environment.
The ideation process centred on four essential functions:
Report: A straightforward reporting system for documenting sanitation problems in public spaces.
Find: A location-based directory to help residents discover nearby public toilets and waste-management services.
Learn: An educational space providing information about environmental hygiene, sanitation practices and responsible waste disposal.
Track: A feature that allows users to monitor the progress of their submitted reports.
These functions shaped the platform's information architecture and user experience.
I prioritised simplicity, accessibility and clear navigation, ensuring that each feature addressed a specific user need without making the experience unnecessarily complicated.
The result was the EcoTrack concept: a unified platform connecting sanitation reporting, facility discovery, environmental education and report monitoring.
Designs
Bringing EcoTrack to Life
The design phase focused on translating EcoTrack's core functions into a simple, accessible and visually engaging mobile experience.
I designed five key screens to introduce users to the platform and provide access to its essential features:
Welcome: Introduces EcoTrack and communicates its mission to promote cleaner communities.
Home: Serves as the central dashboard, providing quick access to reporting, nearby facilities, educational resources and submitted reports.
Report: Provides an interface for residents to document sanitation issues, including their location and relevant details.
Find: Helps users discover nearby public toilets and access information about available sanitation facilities.
Learn: Offers a dedicated space for sanitation education, environmental awareness and responsible waste-management practices.
The visual direction combines purple, orange and warm cream tones to create a distinctive and approachable identity. Clear typography, illustrations, structured layouts and intuitive navigation help make the experience easy to understand.
Each screen was designed around a specific user need while maintaining consistency across the platform.
Lessons
Designing for Meaningful Change
Working on EcoTrack reinforced my understanding that meaningful digital products begin with understanding real-world problems.
One of my biggest takeaways was the importance of designing beyond aesthetics. A visually appealing interface is valuable, but its real purpose is to make essential information and services easier to access.
The project also highlighted the importance of simplicity and accessibility when designing for diverse communities. Each feature needed to address a clear need while keeping the overall experience straightforward.
Most importantly, EcoTrack showed me how product design can extend beyond convenience to explore solutions to social and environmental challenges.
As the project develops, I hope to validate the concept with residents, collaborate with sanitation stakeholders and explore how the platform could integrate with existing waste-management and public sanitation services.
EcoTrack is an early-stage concept, but it represents my ambition to use technology and design to contribute to cleaner, healthier communities.
