INITIAL CONCEPT

Given that food waste produces roughly 8% of our global emissions (Project Drawdown – Paul Hawken), we wanted our prototype to tackle food waste. The main idea behind the project was to create a DIY compost bin, creating an open-source CNC design. We focused on the integration of the compost bin as a design element, as compost bins are usually just kept wherever there is a space in a home. We wanted to give the bin a designated space in the house, and with that more presence, creating a greater relationship with the occupants of the house and incentivizing the reduction of food waste.

As the idea was to have the compost bin as part of the kitchen furniture, the best method for composting was by an aerobic process. This method decays food waste with the help of microorganisms and oxygen, which means that the bin has to be turned often. The by-products include water, CO2, and heat. During the process, the bacteria and pathogens die with the same heat produced during the process. All of this makes aerobic composting the best option for indoor composting.

PROCESS

We integrated the compost bin to function as kitchen furniture and integrated a cutting board, where you can prepare your food and throw the scraps more easily into the tumbler. The cutting board allows for food to be cut into smaller pieces, then thrown into one of the containers in the tumbler where it will be turned for 15 days. After this time, food scraps can be thrown in the second container, while the first batch of food scraps matures for another 15 days. After these 30 days have passed, the food scraps from the first container should be mature enough and can be thrown in the drawers located below the tumbler. These drawers can be removed to be taken into the garden to use as compost.

“Prototyping: Compost” is a project of IaaC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia
developed at Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities in 19/20 by:
Students: Ester Camps & Camille Garnier
Faculty: Michael Salka