Motta Booth: Extending Convenience and Limiting Food Waste

Inspired by an immersive three-week course in Japan, motta is a design for a publicly accessible booth that houses surplus, unsold food from grocery and convenience stores, as well as composting organic matter, all to limit food waste. This project falls under UN SDG goal number 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, specifically under target 12.3, to halve global food waste by 2030.

School of Design | Graduate Interior Design
Student: Nina Oleynik
Faculty: Tetsu Ohara
Cover image of project named motta booth: extending convenience and limiting food waste project. motta written in large pink and orange type along with the Japanese word "Mottainai" written over it in black text. Two separate 3D mock ups of a pink and orange booth showing the front and the back of the booth, along with two white silhouette figures for scale. Author name: Nina Oleynik
Motta has three main components:
to Extend: by purchasing expired and damaged packaged goods that are traditionally unsellable in stores and that would be thrown away
to Absorb: by informing the user about their relationship to food waste
to Give Back: by creating compost that turns into soil for community beautification

Cover image of motta booth: extending convenience and limiting food waste.
Image showing motta's project description, as well as four circles containing a logo for UN SDG #12: responsible consumption and production, an icon of a bottle with arrows to Extend its life, an icon with life cycle arrows with a leaf in the middle as a symbol for Absorb, and an icon of a plant as a symbol for Give Back. A product life cycle chart shows where motta will intervene: during consumption and towards end of life compost.
Motta is a design for a publicly accessible booth that houses surplus, unsold food from grocery and convenience stores, as well as composting organic matter, all to limit food waste. This project falls under UN SDG goal number 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, specifically under target 12.3, to halve global food waste by 2030. Motta’s three pain components are to Extend, Absorb, and Give Back. First, to Extend by purchasing expired and damaged packaged goods that are traditionally unsellable in stores and that would be thrown away. Second, to Absorb by informing the user about their relationship to food waste. And finally, to Give Back by creating compost that turns into soil for community beautification. This project aims to reach city residents in public spaces, at any time of the day.
taxonomy of motta - chart showing graphic solutions employed throughout the project. The first row, Extend, shows an icon of a bottle with arrows to prolong a product’s lifespan, an icon of an apple core to show limit food waste, an icon of an expiration date to show the changing culture around expiration dates, an icon of CO2 showing limiting carbon emissions, and an icon of fish bones to show re-categorization of waste. The second row, Absorb, shows an icon of a human profile to show learning about personal contributions, an icon with life cycle arrows with a leaf in the middle to show learning about limiting food waste, an icon of a pause button to show creating a moment of cause, an icon of footprints to show considering one’s own footprint, and an icon of a triangle to symbolize leaning changed. The third row, Give Back, shows an icon of a carton of milk with an exclamation point showing composting of spoiled food waste, an icon of circular arrows to show creating a compost habit, an icon of a plant as a symbol for considering how compost will be used, an icon of a house within squiggly circles showing community enhancement, and an icon of a bug with a cross-out symbol over it showing avoiding pests.
Motta employs various graphic solutions throughout this project as tools for the user to Extend, Absorb, and Give Back.
Mock-up and plan of motta - Two mock-ups of motta booth: one of the front of the pink and orange booth showing how a white silhouette scale figure would approach the front of the booth, and one of the back of the pink and orange booth showing how a white silhouette scale figure would approach the back of the booth. There is also overview plan showing how multiple users could approach each side of the booth (front and back) simultaneously for different purposes and arrows point to 1- extend, 2- absorb, and 3- give back to show different areas of interaction.
The shape of motta is inspired by Japanese sculptor Sekine Nobuo, meant to surround and envelop the user, creating a moment of pause. The name comes from the environmentalist phrase “Mottainai” – meaning “what a waste!” Additionally, an overview plan showing how multiple users could approach each side simultaneously for different purposes. The ultimate goal is to leave users with a better understanding of food waste, how they can actively mitigate it, and how it can contribute back to the community.
Extend: extend a food product’s life - Image showing an icon of an expiration date and text explaining motta’s power to extend a product’s life. A mock-up sketch of the front of the booth showing how two black silhouette figures would approach and interact with the front of the booth- one child and one adult holding shopping bags. Arrow with the label Extend pointing to the front of the booth where you would purchase a food item.
Motta gives customers the power to extend a product’s life. Expiration dates are largely misleading and result in waste. Due to Japan’s ‘one-third rule,’ where delivery of a food product from manufacturer to retailer must be made within the first one-third of the product’s shelf life, food waste is abundant.
Absorb: motta lets you see your personal impact - Image showing two instances of receipts you would receive from using the machine, one digital and one physical (compostable), titled “food waste receipt,” showing your personal impact by listing how much food has been saved via your purchase and compost input. A mock-up sketch of the front of the booth showing how two black silhouette figures would approach and interact with the front of the booth- one child and one adult holding shopping bags. Arrow with the label Absorb pointing to the front of the booth where you would receive your receipt.
Motta lets you see your personal impact by telling you how much food has been saved via your purchase and compost input. Your personal impact will be printed on a compostable receipt.
Give Back: motta converts food waste into usable soil - Image with text explaining motta’s power to convert food waste into usable soil for your community. A mock-up sketch of the back of the booth showing how one black silhouette figure would approach and interact with the back of the booth- one adult holding shopping bags. Arrow with the label Give Back pointing to the back of the booth where you would deposit compost. An arrow is pointing to the back of the booth, showing where a carbon filter is used to neutralize odor, as well as a circle with an image of a carbon filter. Another arrow is pointing to the top of the booth, showing where solar panels are used to power the composting machine. An icon of a bin shows the bin’s capacity.
Motta converts food waste into usable soil for your community. Motta works by heating and grinding food waste. Sensors cool and control moisture, creating nutrient-rich soil from the food scraps. Fruit, vegetables, grain, and animal products can all go into the machine.
Full project documentation.
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