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Automated Composting System for Household Use

Despite the attention given to the need for waste conservation, there are currently no appealing alternatives on the market to traditional outdoor composting methods-which need space, emit foul odors, require constant attention and turning, and are slow due to unreliable environmental changes. In effort to find a means for more apartment-locked people to feel inclined to start composting, the Compost-O-Matic provides an indoor, automated composting system that minimizes user requirements and maintains optimum composting conditions for fastest processing.

We Are What We Waste

According to a 1999 study conducted by the US EPA (http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/solidwastesummary.htm, the following breakdown was found for household garbage waste:

38.1% Paper
12.1% Yard Trimmings
10.9% Food Waste
7.8% Metals
10.5% Plastic
9.8% Other
5.5% Glass
5.3% Wood Waste

For residents of city-dwellings in the United States, recycling of paper, glass, plastic and metals is feasible and convenient. However, most properties, apartments, and dormatories in urban areas, access to space, supplies, and time for composting of food waste is often restricted. The amount of food scraps that could be saved from the landfill and made into a valuable garden resource validates the need for an alternative to simply throwing food waste in with the garbage. Though automated household composting systems--such as the Compost-O-Matic under development by a group students at UC Berkeley--are not a permanent solution to waste management, they provide an immediate method for reduction of food waste at minimal energy costs where space and time are crucial.