With 1,000 plants, Hyderabad-based Pinnaka Padma has developed a green heaven on her terrace. Often, the seasoned gardener requires compost in bulk to nourish her plants. While experimenting with composting techniques, she came across a portable composting machine that converts organic waste in just seven days compared to normal composting which takes anywhere between 45 and 60 days.
“What fascinated me was that you can dump any kind of organic waste, including vegetable peels, and leftover food items like rice and chapati, inside this machine and get compost in just seven days,” the 59-year-old urban gardener, who has been using the machine for the past three months, tells The Better India.
“Usually, waste composting leaves a bad smell in the house. Along with the machine, I received a composting mix that cuts that smell. Also, I have observed that the quality of compost is good for my plants,” she adds.
Behind this innovative composter is Pavani Lolla who has innovated ‘Vapra odour-free home composter’ and green mix with which a household can compost their waste in just seven days!
We sat down with her to learn more about her innovation that aims to divert organic waste from landfills.
Towards a landfill-free India
While pursuing engineering at Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Pavani was part of a student forum called ‘Eco Club’ that stressed on awareness about sustainability and adopting eco-friendly practices.
“As part of the project, we went to a nearby village to spread awareness about efficiently segregating waste. When we asked villagers why they preferred dumping waste instead of segregating it at the household level, they said it anyway ended up getting mixed in landfills so what was the use of segregation,” she recalls.
While everyone forgot the incident after coming back to college, Pavani wondered how to solve the issue. “I thought, why don’t we build a machine where segregated waste could be dumped at the household level?” says the 26-year-old.
By the end of her final year of college, she encountered a rather major problem. “Amidst the conversation of tackling plastic waste, we overlook the issues brought down by organic waste. About 60 percent of waste at home comprises organic waste that is dumped recklessly in landfills. Over time, this organic waste breaks down and releases methane gas emissions leading to global warming,” she points out.
“Meanwhile, people in urban spaces spend a lot on purchasing organic fertilisers as not everyone can prepare compost at home because of its complex process. You have to keep putting kitchen waste and soil in layers. It also requires a lot of patience as it takes weeks to prepare the compost,” she adds.
Pavani understood that while organic waste was a problem, it could also be turned into an opportunity. In 2020, she came up with an innovative composter that not only solved the everyday dumping of organic waste but also aimed at making composting people’s daily routine.
The same year, she co-founded ‘Future Steps’ along with her peers, Mahesh U and Siddhesh Sakore, to commercialise the composter.
How does the composter work
Pavani’s home composting kit can handle up to 1 kg of organic waste daily. Suitable for balconies, the portable composter can be kept anywhere just like a dustbin. Priced at Rs 3,500, the food waste composter comes along with a green mix powder.
Explaining how the composter works, she says, “Our kit comprises a rotating composter and 2 kg pack of green mix powder. To the composter, add a complete pack of green mix powder, add 400 ml of water on day 1, and mix it with your hand. You can add kitchen waste of any kind, including fruit peels, leftover rice, and roti, to the composter. Once you add the waste, close the lid and rotate/spin the composter five times.”
Pavani mentions that her composter has the edge over traditional methods of composting. “Usually, the process of composting takes 45-60 days but with this, we can prepare compost in just seven days. We do not increase the temperature of the composter artificially, it is a natural process,” she says.
“Another major problem is that composting piles smell like ammonia as food waste breaks down into nitrogen. Our green mix removes this smell and allows you to recycle waste at home without any discomfort,” she adds.
Pavani informs that in a month, the machine converts at least 30 kg of kitchen waste into useful compost. So far, Future Steps has sold more than 6,000 composting kits across Telangana, Maharashtra, New Delhi, and Karnataka.
Looking back at the mission that encouraged her to innovate the device, she says, “Initially, anyone hesitates to touch the waste but whenever I touch the waste without any hesitation, people ask me what was the need to do this.”
“Many times my friends and family members question my decision but in the end, my work pushes me every day to work towards solving India’s mounting waste problem. Definitely, it will take years but at the same time, it is satisfying to take the first step and create life out of trash,” she adds.
Edited by Padmashree Pande. All photos: Pavani Lolla.
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