ENVIRONMENT

How Aluminium Makes Composting Easy

Instead of consigning unused food to landfills, composting offers a far more ecofriendly option.
23 September, 2016
Instead of consigning unused food to landfills, composting offers a far more ecofriendly option.
Composting is a much-needed strategy for creating more sustainable communities, but it can be hard to persuade people to do it at home. A 2014 study by the National Waste & Recycling Association in the United States found that 72 percent of Americans don't bother – but the vast majority would if it was easier.

Since there is an underlying willingness to adopt more sustainable practices, a combination of new products and education can make a real difference. While municipal and regional governments across the world continue to advance waste management practices that separate food to keep it out of their landfills, people continue to generate more waste every day. In Europe and North America, per capita waste adds up to 95-115 kilograms each year, primarily from compostable fruits and vegetables.
Image: Seed
Learning how to compost the organic matter in our kitchens helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, all while returning nutrients to the soil. That improves agricultural yield and offers a sustainable alternative to chemicals and fertilizers, and there is a growing market for ways to make home composting a habit.

One solution designed to make the process easier and more attractive is a small-appliance kitchen unit created by Polish designer Ala Sieradzka. The Bono is a countertop model made from aluminium that looks like a slow cooker, but rests on a cork base. It is meant to take the unnecessary mystery out of composting kitchen waste for people who aren't sure how to do it correctly, or those who wonder if composting with worms in the house is really a good idea. It's convenient while cooking, simple to empty, and turns those potato peels, coffee grounds, food scraps and eggshells into the perfect soil for kitchen herbs.
But how does he do it? In his August interview with Hotrod.com, Grubb described the technique and tools he needed to translate his graph-paper drawings into a 3D reality. Most of the body is made from 1/16-inch (1.6 mm) 3003 aluminium alloy, although he used a 1/8-inch (3.2 mm) thickness for the doors and the cabin structure for them. He shaped the body panels with a shrinker (to limit marring and protect a smooth and even surface) and a power hammer.
Handy composters can build their own DIY units too. Professional-quality kits are available, but tumblers and bins can be made from wood pallets, cinder blocks, wire mesh, and barrels. The same 55-gallon (208 liter) plastic drum that is popular for making DIY rain barrels works as a compost tumbler, with a few aluminium strips and rivets to reinforce the door opening and inexpensive lumber to build a stand.

Even an aluminium trash can becomes an inexpensive compost bin that is safe from raccoons and other urban wildlife, as well as those neighborhood pets who want to nose through kitchen scraps. It just takes drilling holes in the can – some stores carry them with holes already in them – and be sure to use a tight-fitting lid. One should also consider the weight of the full can, and how they plan to stir the compost or empty the bin.

Whatever method new composters choose, the decision to compost helps reduce landfill waste and protects the environment. It also helps make people more aware of how much food waste they create, and may reduce the amount of food that goes to waste in the first place!
Banner image: Ala Sieradzka