Although we should try to keep as little of our organic waste as possible from going to the landfill, not everyone has the outdoor space for a compost heap. The Puresky Waste Composter is designed to help, by moving the composting indoors.
Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Puresky joins the ranks of other kitchen composters released in recent years, such as the Zera, Kalea and Reencle Prime.
Users start by emptying their food waste into the device's 4-liter (1-gal) main chamber, then closing its lid and pressing a button to activate it. Doing so causes the Puresky to begin a process in which it heats, dries and grinds the waste.
The grinding is performed by six steel blades, which reportedly reduce the waste to much finer particles than competitors' products. As a result, the material is rendered into compost in just a claimed six hours. In fact, users can even opt for a less energy-efficient Fast mode, which takes only three hours to get things done. This is considerably faster than the next-fastest device, the discontinued Zera, which was said to do the job in 24 hours.
The compost is retrieved from the Puresky in an included bucket, from which it can be dispensed into gardens, potted plants or whatnot. Users can remove the grinding blades for cleaning, plus two carbon filters are claimed to keep the thing from stinking up the kitchen. A display notifies users when the filters should be changed, which is approximately once every three to six months (depending on usage).
According to its designers, the Puresky's power consumption sits at about 150 to 200 kilowatt-hours per year for a four-person household. It produces less than 60 decibels of operating noise.
Potential backers should note that unlike the case with household green bins, users can't throw absolutely any organic waste in the device. Big, hard beef and pork bones may jam and damage the blades, plus too much starchy or sugary waste (like fruit or potatoes) may cause clumps in the drying process – the latter problem can be avoided by mixing in other types of food waste.
Assuming the Puresky Waste Composter reaches production, a pledge of US$285 will get you one. The planned retail price is $499. There's no word on the cost of replacement filters.
You can see the composter in use, in the video below.
Sources: Kickstarter, Puresky