Green Cone Food Digester
A Green Cone is a revolutionary food waste digester that, in conjunction with the sun's heat virtually converts all food waste into its natural components of water and CO2. All food waste including cooked food, meat and fish, dairy products and bones can be placed in the Green Cone.
The Green Cone's capacity is ideal for up to a family of four, and after initial installation (besides the addition of an accelerator powder) the process is very low maintenance. The Green Cone requires a 2ft deep x 2ft wide hole to be dug during installation. It also requires a sunny position and good drainage.
The Green Cone works by maximising the heat from the sun to encourage bacterial growth. In conjunction with the accelerator powder, which adds additional natural bacteria, and natural micro-organisms and worms found in the surrounding earth, the Cone converts virtually all food waste into water, CO2 and a rich soil conditioner that seeps into the surrounding ground.
You can find more information about Green Cones at www.greencone.com
Green Cone Food Digester Trial
In 2007, 250 volunteers took part in a six-month trial of Green Cone Food Digesters, to see if they were a suitable way of diverting biodegradable waste from landfill sites. Charnwood Borough Council felt this was an important trial to undertake, as when biodegradable waste decomposes in a landfill site, it does so anaerobically, and a by-product of this process is methane, which is a highly potent greenhouse gas. This doesn’t happen in a Green Cone, as the organic matter is exposed to the air. The UK is also running out of space for landfill sites, so we need to find more appropriate ways of dealing with our waste.
The results of the trial were very positive, showing that households can divert around 18% of their total household waste from landfill sites by using a Green Cone. As such, it could be argued that the Green Cone can be a an appropriate method of waste minimisation for residents of Charnwood.
For more information on the trial, please refer to the Evaluation Report below.
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Green Cone Evaluation Report (PDF Document, 8.3 Mb)
Frequently Asked Questions (1)
We recommend that uncooked food waste, such as vegetable peelings, tea bags and egg shells, should be placed in a home composter. Cooked food waste, such as left-overs can be placed in a food digester. For current offers and further information on home composters, and cooked food waste digesters, call the County Council on 0116 305 7005, or click here.
Last updated: Tue 29th November, 2011 @ 10:31
