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Abstract

This tumbling composter is an easy to use, easy to build composting system that can turn your leftover scraps into nutrient rich soil for a multitude of different uses. Using readily available building materials one can construct their own tumbling composter to utilize at their homes, which this product will fit perfectly, especially at homes with limited space and like the cleaner appearance of a tumbler as opposed to a heap of steaming compost!. With increased aeration comes a speedier composting process, meaning more nutrient rich soil for your own personal use.

Background

For the Spring 2017 semester, we are rebuilding the Humboldt State University compost system at CCAT (the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology). CCAT is a model home dedicated to demonstrating renewable and carbon neutral practices you can do in your home. CCAT needs a new compost system because their current one doesn't have enough insulation and is difficult to use. As you can see below, the frame of the system is beginning to break down making it even harder to access the mature compost. A working compost system is essential to the identity of CCAT and needs to be functional as well as educational. The current compost system is a three part compost but the system we will be implementing is a tumbler compost system which will be more compatible with what CCAT needs. More details of different compost systems can be found below. This gallery shows photos of the current compost system in place.

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  Crank to lift lid of compost bin

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  Inside of compost bin

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  Lid insulation

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  Inside of compost bin

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  Lid pulley system

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  Full compost bin

Problem statement

The objective of this project is to redesign and rebuild a tumbler compost system for CCAT at HSU that is easy to access, use, and creates nutrient rich soil.

Literature Review

Composting Basics

"The word compost comes from two Latin roots, one meaning "together," the other meaning "to bring"". ^[1] This essentially boils down to the practice of combining a bunch of organic material together to create useful and organic fertilizer. Many cultures have re-purposed organic materials for farming, building material and fuel that it is hard to give credit to just one for the origin of composting. ^[2]

The basics of composting include organic material, a certain level of aeration, and insulation. The idea is that the insulated area creates its own heat which speeds up the decomposing process while the aeration helps to reduce the odor that decomposing material produces. The organic materials that can be composted are fruit/vegetable scraps from the kitchen, yard clippings, and paper materials. The things that should not be composted are meat, eggs (though the shells are compostable), dairy products and any material that has been processed such as metals or plastics. ^[3]

There is a balance of nitrogen and carbon to be aware of also. Carbon ("browns") is usually found in dried things like straw, dried leaves and wood chips. Nitrogen ("greens") is in most kitchen scraps and yard clippings. The ratio of carbon to nitrogen or browns to greens needs to be close to 25-30:1. ^[4] If there is too much carbon, the decomposition will slow down and if there is too much nitrogen the pile may begin to smell. The balance helps keep the microorganisms working with enough protein and energy to turn the organic matter into nutrient rich compost.

Methods of Composting

There are many different styles of composting. Determining which one is right for an individual is determined by a few different thing. How much waste is produced, how much maintenance is needed for the system and how quickly the compost matures are just a few elements to consider.

Barrel Compost

The barrel compost system is a relatively new system. It is a system that is easy to operate but there is some thinking to do about placement. This system doesn’t have a large storage space but it creates mature compost in as little as one month. ^[5] The maintenance of this system is very easy. The barrel should be turned once a week for proper aeration and once the compost is matured it must be removed and the cycle starts again. The mature compost can be used right away or it can be stored elsewhere for later use. One down side to this system is that once the barrel is full, the addition of new materials must stop. This halts the constant production of compost but rather it is made in ‘batches’ which may not be compatible for high waste producing households.

3 Part Compost

A three part compost system is very useful. It takes up more room than a barrel compost but material can be continuously added and turned for the constant production of usable compost. The idea is to have a three blocks where one side is the incoming block, the middle block is the “in progress” compost and the last is the ready to use, finished compost. The maintenance is a somewhat involved, since the incoming compost must be moved to the middle compartment and then once again to the finished side. If mixed and proportioned properly, there shouldn’t be much more maintenance than that but it is possible for it to need turning if it begins to produce odor. ^[6]

Vermiculture

Also called vermicompost, this uses worms to process the organic material. It has the same basic methodology as regular composting but the worms speed up the process and requite a little more attention. They are a little more sensitive to temperature which means they should be located close to a home or in the home itself. There also needs to be some specific things added to the compost in order to make it easier for the worms to breathe. Things that aerate the compost not only makes it easier for the worms to breathe and move around but it also cuts down on odor that is produced naturally by compost. There are many structures to choose from when housing the worms. The most common structure is the stackable unit. There are many square containers that have holes in the bottom of the unit. The basic idea of this unit is the new organic material is added to the top level. When there are no more levels to be added, the very bottom layer is taken out and the worms are removed from the mature compost. The worms are added back into the unit and the compost is used. The now empty level is placed on top and the process starts over. ^[7] The holes in the unit allow for the worms to move up toward the fresher organic material. Other structures have one level that they harvest more frequently and all at once. The maintenance of vermicultures require a little more work than the non-wormy compost. The worms need to be monitored and kept alive in extreme temperatures and when time comes to harvest the compost, they need to be sorted out of the compost in order to continue on with the cycle.

Construction

Building Materials

Building materials for a compost system can range from anything from wooden pallets to recycled plastic bins you might find lying around. Depending on the size, location, and type of composting system you wish to build the materials may vary. Wire mesh and pallet planks can be used to build simple outdoor square or rectangular compost systems along with cinder blocks, bricks, or even cardboard for a simpler but less sturdy option.^[8] If your building a tumbler composter, which is essentially a drum or any cylindrical contain that can be rotated to help move and aerate the compost inside materials such as trash cans, recycled food drums, or old wine barrels can be used. ^[9] Essentially all that needs to be accomplished is a contained, protected environment that successfully allows for the natural process of breaking down organic materials to occur. We went with a tumbling composter, using a plastic 55 gallon drum, suspended and rotating on a plastic pipe held up by a specifically designed wood support system.

Client Criteria

When speaking to CCAT about their needs we decided on building a whole new composting tumbler instead of trying to renovate the old existing one. there were a few elements that stood out as more urgent needs. One of those needs was making sure the tumbling bin would be high enough so that there could be wheelbarrow access underneath, making for easy access to the mature compost. The current compost bin has a very heavy lid, and decaying infrastructure making access to the compost very difficult. Another important criteria was that the bin rotate smoothly and efficiently without much wear and tear on the axle. This would make it much easier to use and would significantly increase the lifespan of the bin, making maintenance much less of an issue. There was a mention of pests but this isn't a very urgent problem, just something to keep in mind while designing. ^[10]

Criteria

Proposed Timeline

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Proposed Budget

Our funding will be coming from CCAT and will simply be used on buying the building materials to upgrade the compost system.

Costs

Operation

Operating this composting tumbler is very simple. Simply put your compostable goods inside the bin, rotate once a week for aeration which increases composting rates, and empty your new nutrient rich soil once a month! One thing to keep in mind is once the tumbler is full, don't add any more materials to the bin until the composting process is finished, which will take about a month.

Maintenance

This tumbling composter is a very low maintenance system, simply requiring scheduled check ups on the moving parts to make sure everything is moving smoothly. This requires checking and replacing the zip ties, cleaning and replacing the inner screen, and maintaining a smooth rotational platform for the bin to rotate on.

Schedule

Below is a schedule for maintenance of our tumbling composter

Daily

• A daily task
• A daily task

Weekly

• rotate composter
• make sure rotating axles are clear of any debris

Monthly

• empty bin of compost and add new materials monthly
• clean off screens to make sure there is air flow to the system

Yearly

• check to see if zipties are holding, replace when needed
• make sure inner screen layer is clean and intact, replace if needed.

Every __ years

• task
• task

Instructions

This is how to maintain. The step by step how to template {{How to}} is most likely best for this part.

Conclusion

Testing results

unfortunately we did not have enough time to properly test our product

Discussion

we didn't get any results

Lessons learned

for next time we should start building our composter at an earlier date and compensate for unforeseen complications that were a huge factor during this building process

Next steps

The next steps for this composting system would be to fully seal the door to the bin, so that the chances of material falling out would disappear, along with finding it a permanent home, because as of right now its located near the old composting system which is planned to be removed, in which this tumbler will take its spot. The base will need to be buried one foot under the ground to allow for easy wheelbarrow access, along with securing the system. The last step that should be implemented in the future would be giving it a nice paint job so that it looks attractive and inviting to use.

Troubleshooting

This is only how to troubleshoot basic operation. For complex issues, the solution might just say contact ________. It should be a table in this format:

Team

Introduce team and semester in the following format:

• Jacob Walsh
• Emerson Kinsey

References

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