Financial Times

Making productive use of your garden waste
By Quintus Perera
Do you know that for less than Rs 1,990 you can solve your perennial household garbage problem? This is what Arpico Plastishells Ltd (APL), part of the giant Richard Pieris & Co Ltd, is trying to achieve and, its initial efforts have succeeded. Arpico, which has produced many innovative products to the Sri Lanka market during its existence of 72 years, after a research study has created the Compost Bin - a bin that converts garbage to compost fertilizer. The bin is made out of a thick plastic and lasts a lifetime, according to the company.

Derrick Perera, Product Manager, APL said the compost bin was introduced to the market as a result of a urgent need as garbage disposal has been a real headache for the households, specially those living in urban areas.

APL did its test marketing of the product when it was asked to supply a large stock of these bins to the Central Environmental Authority, which in turn distributed them to local authorities. The Compost Bin went into commercial production a few months ago and was introduced to the local market last month.

Perera said the bin is easy to use. It converts all household garbage except glass and polythene into compost. It would initially take three months to convert garbage to compost but subsequently compost could be removed on a weekly basis.

He said that once the bin is installed there would not be any hassles of daily collection of garbage at home and garden. There is no need to throw garbage or the household should not worry about whether the municipal garbage collector arrives or not.

The main features of the bin are impact and crack resistant and resilient; high rigidity and ultra violet stabilized; completely recyclable; comes in a nature friendly shade of green to blend in with the garden and capacity of 160 liters, which is sufficient for the average household.

Explaining the process of installing the bin in the garden, Perera said: "place the bin on a concrete base in a corner of the garden and keep the lid open. Fill it with garden matter such as leaves, etc and kitchen waste. No chemicals should be added.

When the matter in the bin starts breaking into compost-like formation, the level on top starts going down making room each day for fresh garbage to be added."

The bin has as many as 300 holes. When the air absorbs into the garbage through these holes, bacterial activity takes places and gradually the solid matter is turned into powder form.

Perera said that kitchen waste is ideal because it makes bacterial activity faster. The bin has to be kept out and in a dark place to facilitate the proper bacterial activity.

Some state research institutions have experimented with success garbage recycling models but rarely put them into commercial use. Perera said that depending on the progress of this bin, APL plans to manufacture a smaller bin aiming at the lower income groups.

Bins in different colours for different types of waste matter such as glass, paper, metal, polythene, kitchen waste and garden waste are also being considered.

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