Compost-Flow Design Process

Composting is a highly sustainable way to reduce garden and food waste, but many users struggle to do it effectively. Poor understanding of the process often leads to slow decomposition, unpleasant odours, pest issues, and ultimately low-quality compost. These frustrations discourage continued composting and reduce its environmental impact.

Diagram of compost pile with layers of brown materials, green materials, soil and water, and sticks, arranged in a stacked manner.

Research & Insights

Two pie charts showing responses to questions about compost bins. The first chart indicates 94.2% answered 'Yes' to benefits for educating new gardeners, and 5.8% 'No'. The second chart shows 83.3% answered 'Yes' to improving compost bin design, and 16.7% 'No'.
A chart comparing the quality and cost of different composting options. It shows a small compost bin, a large compost bin, a compost tumbling drum, a composting toilet, a compost tumbler, and a wooden compost bin.
Diagram showing the procedure of waste management and composting, including material separation, use of a rainwater collector, built-in pH meter and temperature gauge, and containers for composting and unloading.

Design Development

Hand-drawn sketches describing a storage system with labeled components including stacker trays, drawers, and a system tray, with notes on assembly and features.
Hand-drawn sketch of a storage cabinet with numbered drawers, tray with vegetable holes, tool holder, internal organizer, and outer easy-open shell, with handwritten notes describing features.
Organization of small electronic and mechanical components on a whiteboard, including plastic parts, sensors, and circuit elements, with handwritten labels.

Final Prototyping & Testing

A two-tiered black plastic and metal device on a wooden table, with a white and pink object attached to its side, in a workshop setting.

Test Rig Prototype

A trash bin filled with leaves, twigs, and other yard waste, covered partially with a black garbage bag.
A black compost bin filled with kitchen and yard waste, partially covered with a gray plastic bag, outdoors on the ground with dirt and small rocks.
Disassembled plastic storage boxes and cleaning tools on a table covered with blue paper towels.

1:5 scale Aesthetic Model

Four green-painted object models with different shapes and sizes, along with several small tools or parts, placed on a beige surface inside a room with wooden wall and light ceiling.
Tools and parts, including green metal objects and a green plastic cover, on a workbench.

Final Outcome

A composting system called Compo-Flow with an open green container showing multiple trays, a handheld solar-powered probe, and a smartphone displaying monitoring app screens.
Instruction sheet and images demonstrating the Compo-Flow smart composting system, including steps for opening, loading, detecting tray drops, monitoring, cycling probes, filtration process, harvesting, and resetting.
A STEM robotics kit with various electronic components, including a breadboard with wires and sensors, a small LCD screen, a green plastic storage container, key fobs, and a 3D-printed enclosure. The kit is on a work table with a paper labeled 'Compo-FLOW' and the tagline 'Products Unbound'.
An electronic project with a rectangular transparent enclosure housing a breadboard, wires, and a microcontroller, featuring a small LCD screen displaying 'Scan RFID tag...'
Close-up of a hand opening a small green storage cabinet with compartments and a rotating spinner inside.
Mobile app screens showing compost monitoring system with temperature, humidity, and alert notifications for compost trays.
Disassembled green plastic storage organizer with multiple compartments and shelves.
Close-up of a green LEGO bathroom set, featuring a toilet, a sink, and a small electronic device on the counter.

Future Development

I am currently in the process of developing the project further as a start-up, working on the design refinemetns, business and financial models.

The product was formely known as Compo-Flow, however the name of the system as a whole was renamed to Compost-Flow, with each individual prdouct being given its own name.