Every year Americans landfill or incinerate around 50 million tons of potentially compostable food waste - enough to fully load a line of 18-wheeler trucks from NYC to LA ten times. To make composting food waste convenient and appealing to consumers, Sepura Home has transformed the conventional garbage disposal unit into an all-in-one home composting system. Unlike a conventional garbage disposal that sends food waste right into the sewage system, Sepura separates food waste from drain water and diverts it into a collection bin under your sink. This allows food waste to be easily composted and also prevents the build up of odor and fruit flies that typically result from table top compost bins.

Because the Sepura system is the first of it's kinds, we had to engineer and design many new-to-the-world features. At the center of the Sepura system is a separator device that attaches to your sink drain and is designed to continuously redirect food waste into the collection bin using a patented electromechanical auger, while still allowing gray water to flow freely into the plumbing.

We also wanted to make the product's user experience effortless so that we could help it gain more market acceptance. We spent a lot of time learning the variations in different kitchen cabinet sizes and shapes in order to make sure we were designing some thing that would fit within as many homes as possible. We were also trying to better understand what the main barriers were that were preventing people from composting in order to address those pain points. A lot of what we heard centered around the headaches with bad odors and fruit flies building up over time as the composted food is collected. As a result of those learnings we invested a lot of our time in designing better airflow through the product, a more robust sealing gasket to block out odors and a smart feature of a carbon filter cover that also doubles as a lid for the food waste collection bucket.

By considering all of the functional improvements combined as well as the obvious challenges of making an attractive and durable product, we were able to design a product that greatly reduced the barriers preventing people from composting their food waste.

Every year Americans landfill or incinerate around 50 million tons of potentially compostable food waste -- enough to fully load a line of 18-wheeler trucks from NYC to LA ten times. To make composting food waste convenient and appealing to consumers, Sepura Home has transformed the conventional garbage disposal unit into an all-in-one home composting system. Unlike a conventional garbage disposal that sends food waste right into the sewage system, Sepura separates food waste from drain water and diverts it into a collection bin under your sink. This allows food waste to be easily composted and also prevents the build up of odor and fruit flies that typically result from table top compost bins.

Because the Sepura system is the first of it's kinds, we had to engineer and design many new-to-the-world features. At the center of the Sepura system is a separator device that securely attaches to your sink drain and is designed to continuously redirect food waste into the collection bin using a patented electromechanical auger, while still allowing gray water from the sink to continue freely into the plumbing.

The biggest challenge with this product from a design point of view was that there was nothing like this on the market so there were no clear references we could look to in order to understand what users wanted from a product like this.

That's why we began our process by carrying out user interviews with everyone from builders to plumbers to consumers. Based on our research we gained several key learnings and responded with specific design decisions:

1) Every Kitchen Is Different

We learned that it was vital to accommodate many different cabinet and sink dimensions was vital. As a result, we created a telescoping height adjustable collection center that that can fit securely under 95% of sink.Installation

2) As Easy to Install as a Water Filter

In terms of installation, we wanted it to be as straightforward as possible. For consumers that chose to install the system themselves, the expectation was that this installation should be no more complicated that adding a sink-mounted water filter and can be accomplished in three easy steps: disconnecting the existing plumbing from the old garbage disposal unit, connecting the plumbing to the separator component of Sepura and installing an on/off switch into the countertop.

3) Contain the Stink

We learned that it was critical to come up with a solution that would reduce odor and prevent the built up of fruit flies. To do this, we designed a carbon filter cover and a gasketed sliding door to locks in odors and prevent fruit flies. We also introduced air vents in specific locations in order to guide the flow of air towards the carbon filter.

4) Streamline the Emptying Process

We learned the worst part of the experience is always emptying the compost bin so make it as quick and painless to empty as possible. In order to do this, we integrated level indication LEDs into the outside of the collector to know when it's time to empty the device. We also designed an easy to access and easy to carry collection bucket that lives inside the collection centre. The collection centre's carbon filter also can be used as an optional lid for the waste collection bucket to make the trip from the kitchen to the garden less stinky. We also tried to make the waste collection bucket as large as possible in order to reduce how often people had to empty it out. We also wanted the process of removing and putting the bin as flexible as possible. The bin can be accessed by pulling the collection center's drawer door open. The waste bin is designed so that it can be dropped into the collection center in any orientation to make the process as flexible as possible.

5) Sustainability/Robustness

Philosophically, we also wanted to make this thing tough enough to last at least a decade. We didn't want to design something that was meant to prevent food waste from going to landfills but that itself would breakdown and quickly end up in a landfill. That's why we selected materials, such as ABS for the main enclosure - that could handle the harsh environment under the sink. We also didn't want to use components or electronics that would become outdated and out-speced.

These learning and design decisions grounded the overall product architecture and ensured that the end user experience was as streamlined and pleasant as possible.

By considering these functional improvements combined as well as the obvious challenges of making an attractive and durable waste collection bin, we were able to design a product that greatly reduced the barriers preventing people from composting their food waste.