Problem #1: Employee Safety
Provided By:
Question:
How can we keep employees safe and comfortable who work outside in the drive through lines during peak hours?
Problem:
Keeping employees comfortable, happy, and safe on the job site is important. While employees assist with drive-through orders during peak hours, many are exposed to the weather elements of heat, cold, wind, and rain. Many locations provide a tent, a fan, and a heater to employees, but this is not enough as employees are regularly moving quickly between cars, sometimes away from these devices. We need a cost-effective solution to help keep employees safe and comfortable while they work hard to take orders from each customer outside.
Problem #2: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
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Question:
How can LEGO design a solution to encourage more people to recycle or reuse materials in order to help build a sustainable future?
Problem:
Recycling material is one of the 21st century’s biggest challenges. Recycling can give a second life to the materials that you use. Getting more people to consistently recycle their waste is a challenge! Sometimes materials need to be sorted at the beginning of the recycling process and many recyclable materials arrive at recycling centers all mixed together. People or machines need to sort these objects according to the material (plastic, glass, metal, paper) and machines often use the physical characteristics of the objects (weight, shape, size) to sort them.
LEGO is working to do their part in helping build a sustainable future through initiatives like LEGO Replay, a way for people to pass their LEGO bricks to children in need of play! Help us to imagine even more creative ways that people in our communities can recycle or reuse common items, such as Lego’s or other toys, easily and effectively.
Problem #3: It’s Electric
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Question:
What is an innovative solution that would either help to prevent a power outage due to weather or help people to light a light bulb without electricity?
Problem:
Electricity is important and it’s an energy source that keeps the lights on in our homes, enables our kitchen appliances to run, and allows us to charge our personal devices like cell phones. Unfortunately, there are times when the electricity goes out and this can be an inconvenience to people. When there is a storm with heavy rain, snow, and/or strong winds, the electricity might go out due to ice and tree branches that are blown into power lines. When the power is out, sometimes people don’t have things like batteries or candles to provide the light that they need to see and stay safe.
Problem #4: Stormwater Runoff
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Question:
What can be done to encourage stormwater runoff into the ground while also reducing the amount of pollution present in the stormwater?
Problem:
Stormwater is a product of rain hitting outdoor surfaces (parking lots, streets, roofs, etc) and washing off into our local streams, rivers, and lakes. Any material that has been deposited onto our yards and outdoor surfaces washes off with this stormwater. Common things such as fertilizers, soaps from car washing, pet waste, sediment and automotive fluids are all pollutants which can be found within stormwater runoff. All of these pollutants have a negative effect on the aquatic environments in our county and beyond. These outdoor surfaces (parking lots, streets, roofs, etc) also increase the amount of water which is sent to waterways, leading to eroded stream banks which reduce the quality of habitat for organisms in aquatic environments.
Problem #5: The Plastic Problem
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Question:
Can you design an alternative plastic solution that would help reduce single use plastic consumption?
Problem:
Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful is dedicated to protecting our waterways in Gwinnett and across the state of Georgia. Part of this work includes promoting the recycling of materials that can be fatal to aquatic organisms, including plastic waste. For example, aquatic animals (ducks, turtles, beavers) can become entangled in the loops of plastic beverage rings, and other plastic items such as straws or plastic bags can injure organisms if ingested. We are interested in how humans can limit our use of single use plastic products, such as beverage rings and straws. Cost effective and innovative solutions are needed to replace the disposable plastic items that humans use regularly.
Problem #6: Student Choice
Question:
What is one real-world problem that is currently taking place in Gwinnett County and/or Georgia that you are interested in? Research the problem you identified and design a solution that solves the problem.