Review Reports - Research on Design Strategy of Mask Recycling Service Based on Behavior Environment

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This manuscript design a strategy for mask recycling service based on the behavioral environment theory and field investigation method. However, this manuscript cannot be published in the present version. The language of this manuscript should be GREATLY improved. Here are the main comments:

1. There are a lot of grammar issues in this manuscript. Some of the sentences are very hard to understand.

2. The abstract needs to be written in a better way. There are too many redundant words and contents. Try to make it concise.

3. In section 2, Change “Chinese scholar Luo Shijian [11] believes that service design is a systematic problem” to “Luo et al. [11] reported that ……”. Meanwhile, why is this a systematic problem? The evidence should be mentioned.

4. The number of interviewers and questionnaires should be included.

5. Please delete this sentence. It is not accurate “Nowadays, the demand for masks in the world is still increasing. Although China has entered the post-epidemic era, the current demand for masks is still rising.”

Author Response

Dear professor，

Thank you for your advice, which benefited me, here is my response to your question.

Point 1: There are a lot of grammar issues in this manuscript. Some of the sentences are very hard to understand.

Response 1: We are sorry for our mistakes in writing, we have checked our manuscript by a native English-speaking colleague. The syntax errors and other issues in this article have now been fixed.

Point 2: The abstract needs to be written in a better way. There are too many redundant words and contents. Try to make it concise.

Response 2: Thank you for your suggestion. We recognize the serious mistakes made in the abstract, which we have rewritten to ensure its readability

Abstract: The global novel coronavirus pandemic has caused a surge in the use of masks world-wide. A large number of used masks that have not been properly handled enter the environment, which caused and will cause serious ecological problems. The purpose of this study is to propose a solution to the problem of mask management from the perspective of Science of Design, and to build a good mask recycling service design strategy through the combination of design and psychology. Firstly, based on the theory of behavioral environment and field investigation, this study analyzes the correlation between the existing mask recycling device and it’s recycling efficiency, user behavior psychology and environment, and studies the behavioral scene of mask recycling, and then establishes the center of design strategy implementation. Secondly, Design of visual guidance system and special recovery device for masks by color psychology and product design. Thirdly, combined with the concept of social innovation service design, the design of mask recy-cling strategy is conceived, and the optimization and formulation of mask recycling strategy is demonstrated through stakeholders, user journey maps and service flow charts. Finally, the de-sign strategy is hierarchically established, and the feasibility analysis system model of mask recy-cling strategy design is constructed. The data collection is carried out through expert interviews and questionnaires, and the weight is calculated by fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. The final output comprehensive evaluation results show that the mask recycling strategy constructed in this study has public recognition.

Point 3: In section 2,Change “Chinese scholar Luo Shijian [11] believes that service design is a systematic problem” to “Luo et al. [11] reported that ……”. Meanwhile, why is this a systematic problem? The evidence should be mentioned.

Response 3: We have made correction according to the Reviewer’s comments. Add their descriptive words to the definition of service design, modifying it to

Luo ect al. [15] believes that service design is an integrated design including service model, business model, product platform and interactive interface, and it promotes the reform and development of service model, design model, innovation-entrepreneurship-venture capital. Therefore, they define service design as a systematic issue, by mining the needs of users and combining the application of design methods and theories, creating new services and planning service process, and producing high-quality service sys-tem to enhance the user experience.

Point 4: The number of interviewers and questionnaires should be included.

Response 4: Thank you for your suggestions. In the article, we added the data collected by the questionnaire and the number of interviewers interviewed.

Through the issuance of 119 questionnaires distributed, field observations, and interviews with a total of 30 people from design graduate students, engineering graduate students

Point 5: Please delete this sentence. It is not accurate “Nowadays, the demand for masks in the world is still increasing. Although China has entered the post-epidemic era, the current demand for masks is still rising.”

Response 5: Thanks for your suggestion, I have deleted this inaccurate description.

Special thanks to you for your good comments.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

This is an interesting paper with comprehensive presentation and well-written. Some minnor problems are:

1) Some figures are not very clear, such as Fig. 1,2,6.

2) For some tables, the space of words should be optimized.

3) More English references are suggested to be added.

Author Response

Dear professor，

Thank you for your advice, which benefited me, and thanks for your approval of my writing, here is my response to your question.

Point 1: Some figures are not very clear, such as Fig. 1,2,6.

Response 1: Thank you for your suggestion, In order to make the picture have better expression effect, I have modified and adjusted Figure 1 2 6, and improve the clarity.

Point 2: For some tables, the space of words should be optimized.

Response 2: Thanks for your suggestion, I checked the content of the table in the text, and found that the format setting of some areas was wrong, which led to the problem of spacing, and has been modified.

Point 3: More English references are suggested to be added.

Response 3: Thank you for your suggestion, in order to improve the credibility of some of the arguments, I search and read the relevant literature, and ultimately add papers to support my arguments presented

Bussan Derek D et al. "Quantification of trace elements in surgical and KN95 face masks widely used during the SARS-COVID-19 pandemic.". The Science of the total environment 814(2021): 151924-151924. DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2021.151924

Ma Minglu et al. (2023). Disposable face masks release micro particles to the aqueous environment after simulating sunlight aging: Microplastics or non-microplastics?. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 443(PA), pp. 130146-130146. DOI: 10.1016/J.JHAZMAT.2022.130146

Wenke Yuan et al. (2020). Toxicological effects of microplastics and heavy metals on the Daphnia magna. Science of the Total Environment, 746pp. 141254. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141254

Pourebrahimi Sina. (2022). Upcycling face mask wastes generated during COVID-19 into value-added engineering materials: A review. Science of the Total Environment, 851(P2), pp. 158396-158396.

Song Shengda and Che Jialing and Yuan Xiaohan. (2022). Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Index Assessment of Green Buildings Based on the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process. Sustainability, 14(19), pp. 12284-12284. DOI: 10.3390/SU141912284

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

The paper considers possible approaches to solving the important newly escalated problem of medical mask disposal. The solution is proposed as a complex approach, including activities relating to technical solutions (the concept of the mask collection device is proposed), design solutions (the visual design of the markings of the mask collection devices is proposed) and social psychology (the optimal location of the mask collection devices in terms of behavioral environment theory is evaluated). he solution of identity scanning and accruing bonuses for the correct disposal of the masks seems elegant.

At the same time, there are a few questions about the work:

1. Why is the device that is designed to collect and disinfect masks called the "Mask recovery device", are masks recoverable?

2. The design of the mask collecting device includes a mask disinfectant and coloring spray that prevents the reuse of the masks. It is not quite clear at what step is it possible to reuse masks after they are automatically packed in a garbage bag? And if it still can, would it be so widespread that it requires mask coloring in every device?

3. Line 284 says: "the induction switch module is responsible for opening the mask when the user needs to discard it, reducing the air exchange time of the recycling box". It is not quite clear what function the "induction switch module" performs, could you please clarify this point in more detail?

Author Response

Dear professor，

Thank you for your advice, which benefited me, and for your approval of my writing, here is my response to your question.

Point 1: Why is the device that is designed to collect and disinfect masks called the Mask recovery device, are masks recoverable?

Response 1: The mask contains recyclable components, such as iron sheets at the nose bracket and cotton rope at the hanging ear. However, due to the lack of a special recycling device and the difficulty in recycling the virus carried by the mask, a large number of masks are discarded and recycled incorrectly, resulting in the wrong destruction of recyclable components and non-recyclable melt-blown fabrics and other materials, resulting in a huge ecological crisis. This product is designed to make the mask better and safer to be recycled, so I named the device ' mask recycling device '.

Point 2:The design of the mask collecting device includes a mask disinfectant and coloring spray that prevents the reuse of the masks. It is not quite clear at what step is it possible to reuse masks after they are automatically packed in a garbage bag? And if it still can, would it be so widespread that it requires mask coloring in every device?

Response 2: After the masks are discarded to the recycling box, there may be the behavior of turning the masks out for self-wearing or illegal sales. Therefore, disinfecting and marking each mask helps to identify the recovered masks, which can effectively prevent others from removing the masks from the recycling box for wearing or illegal sales, resulting in the secondary spread of the novel coronavirus epidemic. Thank you very much for your suggestions, so I realize that there may be ambiguity, so I added a description of the design, modified as “ disinfection module is responsible for disinfection and marking with inductive spray device inside, by spraying colored disinfection liquid mark and disinfect the mask to en-sure the timely elimination of the virus. At the same time, it is prevented from being turned out by illegal merchants from the recycling box for secondary sales, and the hid-den dangers of secondary pollution may be dealt with, which not only protects the life safety of users, but also ensures the safety of recycling workers; ”

Point 3: Line 284 says: "the induction switch module is responsible for opening the mask when the user needs to discard it, reducing the air exchange time of the recycling box". It is not quite clear what function the "induction switch module" performs, could you please clarify this point in more detail?

Response 3: Thank you for your suggestions, so that I realize the problems described here. I corrected it to the induction switch module is responsible for opening the mask throwing mouth when the user needs to discard it

Special thanks to you for your good comments.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 4 Report

Please see the attached document.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 4 Comments

Thank you for your advice, which benefited me, and for your approval of my writing, here is my response to your question.

Why is the device that is designed to collect and disinfect masks called the Mask recovery device, are masks recoverable?

Point 1: Please remove the word “objective” from the abstract or write in a sentence “The objective of this study was...” The same for methods etc. The abstract should not be divided into sections but instead be one uniform paragraph.

Response 1: Thank you for your suggestion. We recognize the serious mistakes made in the abstract, which we have rewritten to ensure its readability

Point 2: An important aspect of the high use of masks is the disposal of toxic elements (contained in them) on the environmental as it was reported this year by this reference: “Bussan, D. D. et al. (2022) “Quantification of trace elements in surgical and KN95 face masks widely used during the SARS-COVID-19 pandemic” Science of The Total Environment, 814, 151924.” I believe this reference should be cited and mentioned in the introduction as this is an important aspect of masks.

Response 2: At your suggestion, I read this article, which is very enlightening to me. Therefore, the introduction adds a description of the elements such as heavy metals and microplastics contained in masks to emphasize the importance of mask pollution prevention and control, and adds your recommended literature and three other related literatures to emphasize its importance.it will decompose resulting in a large number of ' microplastics and heavy metals and other components are released [6-9]

At the same time, smaller microplastic particles have higher adsorption capacity for metal ions[11], which will lead to increased pollution, so that the environmental pollution of masks will be carried out in multiple dimensions such as heavy metals, micro-plastics, microplastics + heavy metals. Therefore, the harm caused by masks should become an ecological problem that all mankind must pay attention to [12]

Point 3: Figure 1 should be more clear. Can you please improve the resolution or increase the font size of the words?

Response 3: Thank you for your suggestions, so that I realize the problems described here. Therefore, I adjusted the font size in the picture and improved the image resolution.

Point 4: Same with figure 2. Moreover in this figure you have long sentences which is not common for a figure and makes it hard to read by the reader. You should present in a different more readable manner this important figure

Response 4: After listening to your opinion, I refined and reduced some of the sentences described too long in Figure 2, and adjusted some descriptive sentences.

Point 5: Line 167 there is an unnecessary empty space on the line. Please fix.

Response 5: Thank you for your suggestion. I also checked the blanks elsewhere in the text.

Point 6: Line 199. The COVID-19 is not an epidemic but a pandemic. Please make a correction.

Response 6: Thank you for your advice, and I have also corrected the errors described in the article

Point 7: Line 203 A space after the period is needed.

Response 7: Thank you for your advice, and I have also corrected the errors described in the article

Point 8: Please check carefully all the word spacing in table

Response 8: Thank you for your suggestion, I have corrected the text spacing format in Table 3, and I have adjusted the contents of other tables

Point 9: Line 397. The formula should be on a separate line by itself.

Response 9: Thank you for your suggestion, I have adjusted the format here.

Point 10: Line 419. Correct the grammar. It is peoples’

Response 10: Thank you for your suggestion, I have adjusted this error and other related errors in this article

Special thanks to you for your good comments.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 5 Report

The article titled Research on Design Strategy of Mask Recycling Service Based on Behavior Environment by Yue-qin Wu is timely and within the aims and scope of sustainability.

In summary, this article describes the environmental waste hazards that disposable masks pose, and then goes over solutions on the best practices of collecting the masks for recycling. The authors touch upon the need for visualization through color and design of a mask recycling logo. This is very original and I have never seen this before. Figure 5 which goes over the recycling device design is excellent. The authors then test the effectiveness of the questionnaire data through fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, to verify the design of the mask recycling service strategy to make sure that the surveys were randomly distributed to the society.

Line 30 instead of one-time masks I believe disposable masks would be a better term.

Line 51 – The authors usage of microplastics is relevant here, but the authors also need to touch upon that heavy elements also can be released into the environment. I highly recommend that the authors cite the following source to support this statement: "Quantification of trace elements in surgical and KN95 face masks widely used during the SARS-COVID-19 pandemic." Science of The Total Environment 814 (2022): 151924. The conclusions of this manuscript also goes over the quality control and quality assurance that needs to take place in the manufacturing process of masks.

Line 46 – There should be a brief description of white pollution is.

The authors mention the ecological problems of the masks in the summary, and to further support this statement the authors need to mention the heavy metals and the effects that heavy metals have on the environment. There is a lot of literature out there regarding heavy metals in the environment so this statement should easily be supported.

On figure 5 for the product design, I am wondering why the authors didn’t put a natural environmental scene with a pond, grassland, birds, fish, etc to help emphasize the point of recycling.

Overall, the manuscript is well written, however I will not be able to accept this manuscript unless the authors mention heavy metals as heavy metals could have a great impact on the environment that microplastics. If the authors would be willing to make the above recommendations I would reconsider my decision.

Author Response

Dear professor

Thank you for your advice, which benefited me, and for your approval of my writing, here is my response to your question.

Point 1: Line 30 instead of one-time masks I believe disposable masks would be a better term.

Response 1: Thank you for your suggestion, I have modified it as disposable masks, and modifying the similar non-standard description in the text.

Point 2:.Line 51 – The authors usage of microplastics is relevant here, but the authors also need to touch upon that heavy elements also can be released into the environment. I highly recommend that the authors cite the following source to support this statement: "Quantification of trace elements in surgical and KN95 face masks widely used during the SARS-COVID-19 pandemic." Science of The Total Environment 814 (2022): 151924. The conclusions of this manuscript also goes over the quality control and quality assurance that needs to take place in the manufacturing process of masks.

it will decompose a large number of microplastics and heavy metals and other components [6-9].

At the same time, smaller microplastic particles have higher adsorption capacity for metal ions [11], which will lead to increased pollution, so that the environmental pollution of masks will be carried out in multiple dimensions such as heavy metals, microplastics, microplastics + heavy metals. The harm caused by mask waste become an ecological problem that all mankind must pay attention to [12].

Point 3: Line 46 – There should be a brief description of white pollution is.

Response 3: Thank you for your advice , We are very sorry for our incorrect writing , the white pollution is the plastic pollution , In order to avoid the ambiguity it brings, we changed it.

Point 4: On figure 5 for the product design, I am wondering why the authors didn’t put a natural environmental scene with a pond, grassland, birds, fish, etc to help emphasize the point of recycling.

Response 4: Thanks to your suggestion, we can realize that adding a picture of the current state of environmental pollution can effectively emphasize the importance of design, so we adjusted Figure 5 by adding a problem finding module to express the environmental pollution caused by masks.

Special thanks to you for your good comments.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

N/A

Reviewer 5 Report

The work by Wu et. al is very novel. The authors have satisfied my requests and this manuscript is ready for publication.