Blake Johnson, an industrial designer, moved from Arizona to California where he was enlightened regarding the green practice of composting. As compared to Arizona, he found the practice more prevalent in California. He found the people more aware regarding the benefits and need of recycling waste as landfills and waste treatment plants are overloaded. If each citizen could reduce amount of waste disposed, the landfills will get substantially lighter. So, he came up with the idea of Ge Urban Composter for individual use.
Inspiration behind Ge
Johnson found out that 20-30% of the waste produced in US is made up of organic waste and 13 percent of this waste comes from food scrapes. This food scrape lands in landfill where its decomposition produces one of the most potent green house gases –methane. Methane is about 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
He also found out that 43 million householders in the US are between 18 and 4 years old and this particular section shows knowledge and interest in composting. However, he observed lack of options in case someone is trying to find and buy a composter for domestic use.
Design
Ge is a small-size composter designed in spherical shape. The small size allows you to fit the composter in a corner of your kitchen. The composter features an internal stirring element that is attached to the external handle. The handle requires little effort to stir the mix in composter chamber.
At its bottom is a collection chamber that collects the finished compost particles. On one of the sides, the composter features an air pump to help push more air into the composter because the process requires sufficient oxygen. Lack of sufficient air means inconsistence and incomplete processing.
How it works
You need to lift the lid provided on the top of the composter to put organic waste into it. The organic waste can include anything from dry leaves, to vegetable, to shredded paper. In order to ensure mixing of contents twist the handle.
You can repeat the process a couple of times to ensure appropriate stirring. After that, all you need to do is to press the air pump frequently. It’ll speed up the decomposition process and also help prevent bad orders. The compost is ready to be applied to plants in your garden.
Although, detailed information regarding the internal process are missing, the Ge Urban Composter sounds like a very good idea considering the need of individual dwellers in crowded cities. It can be easily accommodated in even small apartments with little space in kitchen. Ge Urban composter offers an opportunity to encourage individual practice of domestic composting.
Source : Behance.Net
