Community Level Composting: an (ongoing) design research journey

Image from BioCycle.net for Steven Kraft & Brent Arnold’s subscription based community composting model.

This case study was done as part of Design Project-1 during M.Des Interaction Design at National Institute of Design, Bengaluru, India, and was guided by Ms. Mamata Rao and Ms. Jagriti Galphade.

We had to find some relevant design opportunities in a system with the help of different research and analysis methods that we learnt. The idea is that diving deeper into the various aspects of a system will help us come up with better designs and insightful solutions.

For a detailed explanation of the theory and concepts used in the course, please visit this article.

Compostable kitchen waste (Illustration by Josie Norton)

Organic matter that has been decomposed is called compost. The process of composting recycles various organic materials otherwise regarded as waste products and produces this wonderful soil conditioner.

If this kitchen waste ends up in landfills, it undergoes anaerobic decomposition and produces the greenhouse gas methane and a toxic liquid called “leachate”. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary for organic waste to be managed at the source itself. This “source” could be an individual’s home or an apartment complex or any such community.

I did a comparative analysis of two products that make composting at home easier for the user — Daily Dump’s Kambha and GreenTechLife’s Smartbin Air (these are both composters for individual households).

Kambha(L) and Smartbin Air(R)

I interviewed the users of both these products and was able to draw some insights about them.

Comparison of the user groups of Kambha and Smartbin

I was impressed with the customer service Daily Dump provided to it’s users so they don’t feel alone through the (sometimes confusing) journey that composting is. They’re just a call away, that’s what they say. A representative is sent over to inspect and resolve the issue in a couple of days.

Most of the people who use home composters are environmentally conscious, and are actively looking to do their bit for the Earth. These people form a small section of our country.

It is important to target communities — apartments, institutions, neighbourhoods, offices, malls —in order to normalise composting as the primary method of wet waste management.

Composting on a community level

Workflow in an apartment composting system

The key stakeholders involved are:
1. The community & the people in it
2. The local governing body
3. The organisation responsible for the composting unit
4. The planet(!!)

Iceberg Model Analysis

The iceberg model is used to dig deeper into certain events that are observed and really understand why they occur, and if there is an underlying pattern, structure or mental model that can be addressed to ultimately change the course of events. More about this can be read at our course blog which has a detailed description of iceberg analysis and each of its levels.

Some very relevant question arose from the Iceberg analysis…

“What will someone who has no garden do with the compost?”
“How to teach people to correctly segregate waste”
“How can monitoring all the different composting sites be made efficient or the organisation?”

Design opportunities

1. Getting help
   Finding a point of contact- phone no, website, forum link
   Conveying the problem clearly
   Delay in resolving issues
2. Creating a reliable way for people to get help.
3. Unpleasant sights & smells make people uncomfortable
4. What to do with excessive compost??
   Facilitating the sharing of resources within communities

Themes

A few broad themes that I wish to incorporate into my solutions are:

1. Community engagement
2. Awareness (about composting as well as waste segregation)
3. Knowledge & resource sharing

Initially, my research was focused on the way people get help when they run into trouble with their individual composting units. I am currently looking at ways that more communities can be convinced to begin composting their waste at the source. What started out as a design research assignment on the users of composting products is turning out to be an attempt to make decentralised composting a widespread practice.

Going forward…

I am currently in the process of coming up with design solutions that cater to some or all of my identified problems.

References

What a Waste: An Updated Look into the Future of Solid Waste Management

Day 1 -Systems Approach to Design

Mumbai Society Turns 4 Tonnes of Trash Into 400 Kgs of Compost, Creates Lush Garden!