Sustainability
What makes our project sustainable?
Composting is typically an environmentally-friendly process, because it minimizes the carbon dioxide and methane emissions that are produced by food as it biodegrades within landfills. However, most composting is done by individual households, so cities and businesses are an untapped market for industrial composters. Composting traditionally is difficult in cities, because of the odors that are produced, the lack of space, and the presence of rodents and other pests. Our in-vessel compost units remove these obstacles to help reduce the food waste and landfill mass contributed by cities. Widespread application of urban composting will encourage local food production based on composted soil, creating a circular economy that does not rely on global importation and exportation of vital food supplies.
How do we reuse existing dumpsters?
One problem that was addressed during the design and development phase was that people may tamper with the mechanical components inside the urban composter. Through further brainstorming, we determined that repurposing dumpsters was the best solution. By reusing existing dumpsters, the product becomes inconspicuous and unobtrusive to passerby. There are many other benefits to repurposing existing dumpsters, including diminished manufacturing costs for the composter. Instead of producing new shells for the urban composter, repurposing dumpster bins is a more practical application. Our projects main goal is to reduce waste flow entering landfills., and using dumpsters in the composting device also minimizing a waste source.
