:: Specific Design Brief

CAT 1: Biodegradable Waste

PRODUCT DESIGN UK

GENERIC DESIGN CONTEXT
There is increasing concern about the impact of putting biodegradable waste into landfill sites, mainly because of the methane it then gives off. Design a way of dealing with biodegradable waste in a way that does not cause pollution and has a useful product.

SPECIFIC DESIGN BRIEF

A: Design and make a compost bin suitable for disposing of bio-degradable waste produced in your school.
 
B: Design and make a compost bin suitable for disposing of bio-degradable waste produced in the home.

CLIENT DETAILS
Your first point of contact will be Ann MacGarry at the Centre for Alternative Technology. Contact by email [email protected] - or by phone 01654 705963.

SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES
Households in England and Wales produce 29.3 million tonnes of refuse every year and this is increasing by 3 per cent a year. 82 per cent of this goes into landfill sites (9 per cent is recycled and 8 per cent has energy recovered from it). The organic material in this refuse is 38per cent. When this organic material goes into a landfill site:
• it decomposes anaerobically and produces methane which is a powerful greenhouse gas (20 times worse than CO₂ per unit of gas).
• It is lost to the nutrient and fibre cycle.
• It takes up space in landfill.
• It costs us all money through our Council Tax, in paying for the whole process of disposal in landfill.

FURTHER INFORMATION
KEY QUESTIONS
BACKGROUND

If you decide to work on this design brief, don't forget to consider the issues of sustainability in the different phases of your designing and making.
Click here to access Sustain-a-balls