Don't Have Time to Compost? This Gadget will Do the Work for You

Composting is a great way to recycle and minimize household waste. However, composting is quite hard to do for people who are environmentally conscious but too busy to do it. It’s also hard for the ones who don’t have big space and great ventilation (imagine the stench filling your whole house).

And it’s completely understandable when people say “I have no time for compost.” Some of them have to endure stinky mess and the hard process of adding manure. They also need to keep it moist and turn it often so that the compost doesn’t rot. It’s quite impossible for people who live in the city with high mobility to manually make a fertilizer.

Whirlpool Corporation has a brilliant solution for this. They released a composting gadget called Zera™ Food Recycler. It’s a kitchen appliance that transforms food waste into a high-quality fertilizer just in 24 hours. Such a convenience for modern, urban people, don’t you think?

There are compost programs provided by local government. But not all people feel that they answer their needs. So eco-conscious people sometimes can’t help but throw away their food and leave them to rot. This contributes to pollution and exacerbates greenhouse gas. Wth Zera, you can manage your waste according to your schedule, not the town’s or city’s.

Jennifer Bonuso, Senior Director of WLabs said, “Zera™ Food Recycler brings a purposeful innovation to consumer kitchens, and delivers on an increasing demand for more environmentally-driven solutions for the home,”

“We know Americans are looking for easier, more efficient ways to recycle food scraps, and the Zera™ system makes that possible. We’re excited to bring this offering to consumers and Indiegogo is a great platform to do so, allowing us to connect with consumers in a new and compelling way.”

If you care about aesthetics, Zera does not disappoint. This device is beautiful and it’s designed to fit your house in the way you like. Wanna put it at the end of kitchen island? Great. End of the kitchen counter? No problem! “I think we’re really trying to help consumers recycle food in the comfort of their own kitchen,” said Kelley Rich, WLabs’ marketer and business leader.

What you need to do is plug the device, throw your food scraps into it, and push the magic button. However, you can’t put in bones and pits because Zera’s blades aren’t made for tough scraps. And if you put it at the end of your kitchen counter, you’ll only need to swoop the scraps of whatever you’ve cut on your cutting board.

But of course, you can’t just put in food scraps. You also need to install carbon filter and plant-based additives to help the breakdown process. And from that, you simply need to keep putting your scraps for about a week. The magic, meaning that a combination of oxygen, moisture, and heat does its work, et voila! You have a pile of fresh, great fertilizer for your little garden.

Zera’s fertilizer result looks, feels, and smells like powdery earth. Scott Sichmeller, engineering manager at WLabs said that it almost feels like very finely ground coffee grounds. So you know that it’s dry and not at all yucky.

Also, the additive contained in the device is packed with rich carbon, coconut husk, and baking soda. These things will break down tough, fibrous food, and make you worry less about carbon and nitrogen levels.

Sichmeller “It balances the pH so you can put the fertilizer right on the soil.” It should be noted, though, that you must put the compost from Zera on active outdoor soil. So some houseplants might have to pass your fertilizer.

Additionally, you can sync Zera with your phone. So if you can dump the scraps first and process it through your smartphone later. Just remember to really turn the device on, or you have a real problem inside there (and maybe uninvited stinky smell).

A bit about Whirlpool Corporation

WLabs or Whirlpool Corporation, which creates Zera, is a company which produces unique gadgets for your household needs. Always utilizing Indiegogo to engage with its community, founder Slava Rubin complimented the company, “Whirlpool Corporation is one of the rare iconic companies that has remained incredibly innovative year after year,”

“It’s an honor to help them unveil another amazing product. The value for companies like Whirlpool Corporation using Indiegogo isn’t simply being able to raise funds through the platform, but being able to connect directly with its customers and receive immediate feedback on new products.”

What’s so great about it?

So alright, then. This gadget sounds really promising because it’s easy to use and it’s integrated with mobile app. But what’s so great about Zera anyway?

Convenient indoor composting dream come true

Zera can collect almost 3.5 kg, which according to WLabs is roughly the weekly food waste of an average U.S. family. Every year, these families produce 180 kg food waste that fills around 20% of America’s landfills only. They can now reduce that with Zera.

They’re able to turn those 8-pound scraps into fertilizer all year round. No more worries and concerns about weather at all. This is a huge convenience point when you compare it to manual composting.

What’s more is that there’s no waiting for too long until you get yourself a fine compost. Rich said, “Traditional composting piles will typically take six months to a year.” While it’s time-consuming for outdoor composting, having a decomposing matter inside your home that long can definitely make you scream.

No more composting obstacles

As Kelley Rich said, “Traditional composting process is very inconvenient. We’re trying to simplify that process for consumers.”

Nuf said. As aforementioned, composting manually is a chore and a pain in the neck. Also, different areas mean different challenges to make a good fertilizer. For example, New Mexico’s soil is too dry, while Portland’s is too wet. Chicago’s have more alkaline and drier than Portland.

Soil is one thing that needs to be mastered, but stench is also a big problem. A healthy compost pile still creates some odor, because it’s made of decomposing organic substance. Maybe some people can take it, but for others whose nose are sensitive, this is also an obstacle.

Which is why Zera is layered with carbon and HEPA filter. You can have odor-free composting device for about two months before you need to replace it.

To make things even more promising, Zera™ Food Recycler won some CES 2017 awards. They’ve got Best of Innovation Award in Eco-Design and Sustainable Technologies. Having an award-winning composting device in your house can never go wrong.

So if you have a great awareness in environmental issues, you want to save Earth, but you live in the city and you can neither find a place nor have the time to always recycle properly, Zera is such a perfect solution. You can put every food scraps in there and all you need to do is push a button!

Do you think Zera is one of the most convenient and problem-solving household gadget? Tell us what you think in the comments below. If you enjoyed reading this type of article, make sure to read this post so you’ll find out more about green technology that you might not know yet.

Source(s):

https://www.angieslist.com/articles/zera-food-recycler-indoor-composting-meets-tech.htm
https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/05/whirlpools-zera-food-recycler-easily-turns-food-scraps-into-com/