From food scraps to compost in a jiffy
We test the iCompost If turning kitchen waste into compost could be done at the touch of a button, more people would take it up, and much less waste would end up in landfills. That’s what Himkaar Singh, the man behind the innovative iCompost, believes. Pl
At Platteland we are active proponents of composting, and over the years we have featured stories on everything from worm composting to bokashi. If you’re concerned about sustainability, making your own compost is the responsible thing to do. It doesn’t require magic or genius; you simply have to imitate the natural process by which Mother Nature turns decaying plant material and other organic waste into humus over time.
In our yard we have an ambitious number of “composting projects” on the go: a large, neglected compost pile with many thick branches in the olive grove; two composting bins by the vegetable beds; a plastic composting tower near the kitchen door; two worm farms in the garage; a bokashi bin in the pantry; and a stainless steel bucket in the kitchen into which peels, coffee grounds and teabags go (and which, despite our best efforts, always has a halo of midges).
For the vast majority of people who have a garden and/or potted plants, compost is something they buy at a nursery, a garden centre or a co-op. And the most common reasons they cite for not making their own compost is a lack of time, space, enthusiasm or muscle power required to build and manage a proper hot compost pile – not to mention having to wait for the compost to be ready.
There are numerous systems and inventions to make composting easier, but all come down to one of two methods: cold composting, where anaerobic bacteria, which can do without oxygen (such as those in bokashi), do the breaking down; and hot composting, where aerobic or oxygen-requiring bacteria make the compost. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages: • Hot composting is more labourintensive but produces a better product in a much shorter time (anything from three weeks in midsummer to three months in winter). The important requirements, however, are that you have to build the entire compost pile in one go (it has tobeatleast1mx1mx1min size), you have to monitor the temperature and moisture levels, and you have to turn it at least three times with a fork. If you do it right, the heat will kill weed seeds and most pathogens. >
• “Cool” composting is the better option for busy or lazy people, because you don’t have to build or turn the whole compost pile all at once – you simply throw new kitchen and garden waste on top. The cons? It takes six to 12 months or even longer for the waste to break down, and during this time it may be smelly and attractive to flies, cockroaches, rats and other creatures. Moreover, weed seeds and pathogens in the pile will survive.
Introducing the iCompost
Even though Platteland’s motto is “The slow life is the good life”, our interest was piqued immediately when, in 2021, we heard about a kitchen appliance that shortens the composting process to less than six hours. Himkaar Singh, a civil engineer and entrepreneur from
Joburg, and the award-winning founder of The Compost Kitchen, introduced the iCompost to South Africa. It’s basically a snazzy cross between a hot compost pile and a bokashi bin – besides vegetable and fruit scraps, you can also put small amounts of cooked food in it, even meat (without bones).
Himkaar, who last year made Forbes Africa’s prestigious 30 Under 30 list for his commitment to solving South Africa’s water security challenges through technology and soil restoration, started
The Compost Kitchen in 2019 as a recycling business, collecting organic kitchen waste by bicycle from 350 households in Fourways, turning it into vermicompost using earthworms, and giving the compost back to customers to use in their gardens. Himkaar soon realised it was a fairly inefficient process because 90% of the waste consists of water, and that it would be much better to convince people to make their own compost.
The iCompost is the first electronic composter of its kind in South Africa. Himkaar’s company also designed and manufactures the air filter, and developed the compost activator that you use in it. The first 200 composters could be pre-ordered, but Platteland missed out and placed an order for the second shipment on 1 July 2022. Thanks to a special offer, we paid R4 650 for the iCompost, with two filters and two bags of compost activator included. It was due to be delivered in September, but only arrived at the end of October due to a new Covid-19 outbreak in China and strikes at the Port of Durban. (The Compost Kitchen kept us apprised of the progress.) >