Tag Archives: Composter

Home Composter Concept Makes Real Soil in 2 Weeks, Not Dehydrated Flakes

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Decomposition needs three things: moisture, airflow, and temperature, and those are hard to balance in an apartment. Most food waste ends up in landfills instead, where it generates methane and long-term damage. The wave of countertop composters mostly grind and dry scraps, reducing volume but not really closing the loop in a biological sense. They turn food waste into inert crumbs, not soil you can actually use in a garden or planter.

Vith is a compact, two-stage electric composter designed specifically for homes. It quietly shreds, dries, and then cures organic waste into usable compost in about two weeks, instead of just turning it into dehydrated flakes. The idea is to bring something closer to real composting into a kitchen-friendly appliance, so circular living does not require a backyard or a dedicated bin on a balcony that annoys the neighbors and attracts flies.

Designer: Chandra Vasudev

The journey starts in the upper processing chamber, the shredding bin, where fresh food waste is reduced to smaller, uniform particles and gently dehydrated. Reducing the size increases surface area for microbes later, and removing excess moisture creates a stable input that will not swamp the system. This preparation step means that what drops into the next stage is already optimized for decomposition instead of being a random mix of peels and leftovers with wildly different water content.

The lower chamber, the curing bin, is where composting actually happens in the mesophilic range. Microbial cultures are introduced along with a fine, controlled spray of water to dial in moisture. Rather than actively heating the system, the chamber holds onto the heat naturally generated by microbial activity, letting the biology do the work with minimal energy input while the appliance simply maintains the right conditions in the background.

Integrated sensors continuously monitor moisture, airflow, and temperature, adjusting as needed so users do not have to babysit the process. Every two or three days, the curing chamber gently churns the material, preventing anaerobic pockets and keeping oxygen distributed. Vith stays powered on, but only draws significant energy during active phases like shredding and periodic mixing, keeping consumption low while still delivering consistent results that smell like earth instead of rotting fruit.

The result is usable compost in roughly two weeks, which is fast compared to passive bins but slow enough to be real biology, not just a high-heat drying cycle. The output can go into houseplants, balcony gardens, or community plots, turning what would have been trash into a resource. For an urban kitchen, that predictability and cleanliness are what make the habit stick instead of becoming another abandoned gadget.

Vith fits into daily routines by sitting quietly in a corner of the kitchen, taking in scraps, and giving back soil. By combining mechanical preparation, mesophilic processing, and intelligent control, it makes composting feel like running a dishwasher rather than managing a science project. It is a small but meaningful way to close the loop on food waste without needing more space than a modern apartment can spare, turning composting from a chore you feel guilty about skipping into something that just happens while you sleep.

The post Home Composter Concept Makes Real Soil in 2 Weeks, Not Dehydrated Flakes first appeared on Yanko Design.

Food compost bin concept turns food waste and cardboard into fertilizer

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Our eating habits have changed drastically over the past years, especially after the recent boom in food delivery services. Unfortunately, this isn’t always for the best as it has encouraged unhealthy lifestyles and increased the amount of waste we produce. Of course, there are services that try to remedy that with healthy food options and more sustainable packaging, but those don’t always result in a reduction of how much we throw out at the end of the day, or even after each meal. Human food doesn’t have to go to waste, especially if it can be converted into food for other living creatures like plants. That’s the idea behind this compositing device that transforms not just your meal but also its packaging into something to keep your plants just as healthy as you.

Designer: Byeonkyu Park

That salad you didn’t finish might come in cardboard packaging, but the moment you throw it in the bin, it stops being healthy for the planet. Sure, both materials will decompose eventually, but not only will that take time, it also misses out on the opportunity to use those for something more beneficial in the long run. After all, they can turn into fertilizer, but only if they’re actually treated in a proper manner, which usually involves taking them to recycling or composting centers.

Toggle is a device concept that lets you cut off the middleman and do all of that at home, and it works by using both edible and inedible parts of your meal delivery. It utilizes “green” materials like food waste mixed with “brown” materials like paper and cardboard or even wood, pretty much the things that your food came in. In other words, nothing is wasted, unless your meal is wrapped in plastic instead.

The device doesn’t simply mix these two groups into some disgusting slosh. One part of the machine has a shredder to reduce cardboard and wood into tiny bits, while another is a grinder that cuts up the food waste. The components are heated to reduce the volume of the waste and turn the mixture into something almost similar to the soil you will dump it on. The result is homemade fertilizer that you can use for the plants you’re growing both indoors and in your backyard.

While the process of handling waste might sound and look icky, Toggle is designed to hide those details as much as possible. In fact, it’s made to look more like a stylish and sophisticated can, just one that deftly handles the food you would have thrown out indiscriminately. In addition to safety mechanisms to protect kids in the house, the concept device is made to look discreet, attractive, and easy to use. It’s meant to encourage a more responsible lifestyle that goes beyond just eating properly, making sure that your plants and the planet can also benefit from your healthier lifestyle.

The post Food compost bin concept turns food waste and cardboard into fertilizer first appeared on Yanko Design.