Compo
A composting machine that brings together community members as well as local authorities through the system of reviving the value of food
Material 12mm plywood
Dimension 1270 x 600 x 720mm
Dimension 1270 x 600 x 720mm
The fact
The Solution
It was reported that up to 1/3 of food produced around the world is wasted every year. On average, approximately 200g of food waste is produced by individuals every day; building up to around 280kg of food waste produced from each household. Only 12% of collected food waste is actually recycled according to the WRAP. How each borough deals with food waste varies depending on the council’s regulations. Some do not even provide food waste collecting services, which results in residents throwing their food waste into their regular bins.
Compo is regarded as an exemplary tool to facilitate the process of composting. There are two fundamental advantages of using this product. Compo is technologically designed in a way in which the speed of composting is accelerated. This means that discarded food waste will be produced as compost in a much shorter period of time. Compo is also targeted to all consumers, marketed at an affordable cost so that everyone is able to utilise.
The product is accompanied with additional 100% bio-degradable bags, which can also be obtained from the communal space, to store their compost. On the bags are three tick boxes which are labelled as Nitrogen (N), Phosphoric (P), and Potassium (K). By using the checklist below, it is possible to identify which of the N/P/K nutrients are more included in the collected food waste in comparison to the average nutrient proportion of others. Whilst filling up the bags, users can tick the necessary box which best matches the nutrient category of their collected compost.
Lacking in N is causing leaves in plants to wither and die and stunting the growth of the stalks. P not only helps crops to bear fruit, but also boosts photosynthesis and helps plant roots to branch out. K, Potassium is an element that is needed for producing starch or sugars. It is especially needed in root crops such as potatoes or radishes.
Through this process, people will be able to recognise and understand the types of food that they are consuming and become aware of the sustainable impacts that it has on the environment and our surroundings.
Following this, the users will be able to take their bio-degradable bags back to their communal compost storage that is maintained by the local council. Over time, local gardeners will be able to take the donated compost according to their required individual nutrient needs as stated on the packaging of the bags. In return for the compost that users have donated to the local gardeners, they will receive some fully grown organic produce that gardeners have grown. This exchanging interaction between different users will allow everyone involved to be able to experience the full procedure of this sustainable cycle.
The council will take responsibility and designate the physical location in which people are able to use as a communal space to gather and exchange their goods. Locals will be able to get to know each other by regularly interacting with one another in this shared space, as well as developing trust and support from one another over time.