The project has won 2024 SAN FRANCISCO DESIGN WEEK STUDENT AWARD
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Problem
Each person produces 325 pounds of organic waste every year.
The United States discards nearly 120 billion pounds of food every year, which is 40% of the entire US food supply and equates to 325 pounds of waste per person.
The recycling process can last for multiple months and only 14.8% of organic waste is utilized.
In California, about 41% of organic waste is recycled, and only 14.8% of the recyclables are exported, contributing to the overall recycling rate.
Filter
Collect
Produce
3+ Months
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Eco-enzymes offer a sustainable solution
Eco-enzymes convert organic waste into beneficial products through a natural fermentation process. This process, facilitated by bacteria and yeast naturally present on fruit and vegetable scraps, produces alcohol or acetic acid.
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What if we could help users automatically vent gas and monitor spoilage?
Final Design
Design Highlights
Design Process
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What’s the best indicator of spoilage?
Measure seal tightness
Ensuring the bottle remains sealed is crucial for successful fermentation, as confirmed by interviews with eco-enzyme makers. We measure seal tightness using a U-lock, but the current prototype is too large.
Direction 2
Measure ph levels
We reevaluated our approach and found that pH levels are a common spoilage indicator. As a result, we integrated a pH meter into our design.
Find the normal & abnormal pH level trends
Due to the scarcity of scientific research on pH level changes in eco-enzymes, we created multiple batches, sealing half and leaving the other half unsealed. We monitored the pH levels of to identify the trends between properly fermented (good) eco-enzymes and spoiled (bad) ones.
Final prototype
Circle indicate Process
Track status remotely on the App
Exhibition
We have presented our project in 2024 UC Berkeley MDes showcase. Next, we will exhibit in 2024 Open Source exhibition events.
