#134: Compost cart

It’s estimated that the plastic rings around a six pack of beer can take 200+ years to disappear (somewhat longer than the six pack itself). Despite all the effort that has gone into the development of biodegradeable plastics, it turns out that dumping packaging etc made of even this clever stuff in landfill sites is guaranteed to be horribly ineffective.

Landfill is a poor substitute for a proper composter -mostly because the waste that gets dumped in is covered by tonnes of soil that excludes both oxygen and water -both essential to the decomposition process.

Today’s invention is an upgrade to the standard refuse collection vehicle or dustcart. As the waste is compacted, within the vehicle body, it should periodically be injected with a bacteria-filled paste. This material would also contain some oxygen-releasing agent (which will supply oxygen over the course of a year or so).

The refuse would also automatically be sprayed by a mist of water from a small tank so that the whole decomposition process gets a head start.