Tags: Ecology, Garden
Whatever happened to the Kich’n Komposter?
May 4th, 2007, by Rich.
According to the various fragments of promotional material I’ve seen the Kich’n'Komposter is a cross between a separating centrifuge and a waste disposal unit. It grinds up food waste, then separates it from the water so it can be composted. This may not seem particularly fantastic to some, but we try and compost everything, so as summertime swings by once more, the downside of regular kitchen wastage once again takes to the wing: Flies.
Grinding up food before it goes in the compost has two key benefits:
- It helps the worms to eat the scraps more quickly, because there’s more surface area they can attack it from, this means the composting time is drastically reduced, so there is less compost being made at any one time.
- The waste can be more easily mixed-in with the existing worm tailings (soil), so flies can’t get at it so easily. If they do lay eggs near it, they’re less likely to become viable maggots if the food source is buried.
The Kitch’n'Komposter therefore seems like a great idea, so:
- Has anybody seen one?
- Does anybody own one?
- Does it work as we might imagine and is it effective?
- Why can I not buy it anywhere?
May 30th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
…for real! What happened?
The Kich’n Komposter
by
Carbco Industries
240 Michigan St.
Lockport, NY 14094
I read about these years ago and I want one!
If you find any, let me know!
If I can’t find one, I’m thinking about building
a valve system attached below the sink disposal unit
with one pipe leading out to the sewer as usual, but
the other pipe leading outside, through the wall to
a self-draining compost bin. I’d just reserve food
scraps (like you’d normally do to collect them
before carrying them outside,) finish the dishes
making sure that all the oil and soap is thoroughly
rinsed from the sink, then flip the valve under the
sink over to the compost side and begin to feed the
vegetable scraps into the disposal unit, effectively
washing them down a pipe outside into a compost bin
that drains the extra water off, (perhaps collecting
it to use for gardening.) Then you’d just have to
remember to flip the valve back when you finished.
You get the benefits of grinding up the food, plus,
your compost stays moist…..in theory….
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:09 pm
I work in the State of Vermont and just found a piece of company literature in an old box I am sorting out. Been looking for them myself.
It turns out they had a problem with the first generation and took it off the market to revamp. They think they’ll have something back on line by the end of next summer.
Made by Joneca Corporation, email infor@joneca.com, website http://www.joneca.com
January 12th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
We have a Kich’n Komposter, that we have never used. It is still in the box and in perfect condition. We are happy to sell if anyone is interested. E-mail us for more information.
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:11 am
We reviewed this product in 1993 in Environmental Building News, then returned to it in 1998 with information that the product was available from the manufacturer: Joneca Corporation. However, more recently we have been unable to determine whether the product is still made; I’m hoping Vicky is right that it’s returning this year.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:54 am
I have held on to a sales order/ flyer for this product from a friend since 1996.
It has surfaced again and this time I have actually gotten this far following up.
It is the day after earth day, so through this next weekend people will be turning
to me as the compost and water recycling authority. It sure would be nice to have
such a product to plug in to the kitchen.