Review: Green Cone solar-powered composter
When I unpacked the demo that Green Cone sent over, I was first impressed, then sceptical, then very impressed. Despite being a large object, it's very light, and packaged in a minimal yet sufficient amount of cardboard to keep the shipping impact low. Then John and I pulled out the pieces and peered at them dubiously. A black laundry basket, with an oversized black traffic cone, with an even larger green traffic cone on top? Was this, er, it, for £65 - even if that does include VAT and P + P? Then I looked at it some more, and set it up, and realized, yes, worth every penny, and cheap at twice the price. Why?
The design is deceptively simple, but that makes it easy to mass-produce and easy to recycle. There's no funky electronics - which I'd quite mistakenly thought there were - it just uses concentrated heat and some simple but very smart physics and chemistry to get the job done. The black plastic concentrates heat and zap, that, plus a little extra bacteria, is enough to keep the job going all year round. They say you only have to empty it about once a year, and never have to turn it. The main point though is, unlike a garden compost, you can put any kitchen waste in there: dairy, meat, bones, even "animal excrement" though they note it should be "in moderation" and you should wash up afterward. Miraculously, somehow it doesn't generate any smell either, although it may attract rats. They have a wire mesh cover you can apply to ward them off though.
The Green Cone has to be buried partway in the ground, so this isn't a solution for apartment dwellers. However, it can provide a huge convenience for anyone who has a garden to plant it in, as well as allow you to save on garbage removal (not to mention just generating less garbage and more nutrient). Even at £65 it's a good deal, but I hope it catches on so the price can drop. It's a simple appliance; if it could be mass-produced the price would drop into the realm of all-access. [GT]
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