Ryan Collins, a junior at Northgate High School, has developed a new solution for collecting kitchen compost – an alternative to a typical kitchen compost pail. No more compost on the counter or under the sink, the Eco-Sorter puts compost collection back where it belongs – in the trash can.

The idea for this product started when Ryan was in 5th grade at Bancroft Elementary school. That is when the school started a new program to collect compostable items at lunch time. Ryan was assigned as a trash monitor and given training beforehand on what items were compostable to help kids sort their lunch waste into the correct cans. He realized that his family wasn’t composting their kitchen scraps at home and encouraged them to start. Together, Ryan and his family learned that compostable items in the trash/landfill create methane – a major contributor to global warming, but compostable items put in the compost bin are turned into nutrient rich soil that sequesters carbon and is used by area vineyards and farms to help grow crops. They also realized that over 50% of what they were putting in the trash was actually compostable. For their family of four, this was way more waste than would fit in a little compost bin on the counter (without having to empty it OFTEN). Ryan suggested they find a way to divide their current garbage can in two – one side for compostable waste, one side for trash.

It took several years of Ryan and his mom testing different solutions, learning how to design and 3D print prototypes, and piloting products with family and friends to come up with a final (patent pending) product that makes composting kitchen scraps as simple as throwing out the trash. It was important to Ryan that the product be made as sustainably as possible, so he and his mom found a manufacturer in California who could make the product using 100% recycled plastic and the Eco-Sorter ships in 100% recycled packaging.

Cities and counties throughout California are developing Zero Waste plans and are providing commercial composting services to their residents to adhere with new SB 1383 rules that now require all Californians to separate their compostable items from landfill/trash. The rules for what residents can compost have greatly expanded, BUT, kitchen compost collection has not evolved to handle the larger amounts of compostable items accepted. There has been no innovation around how to collect kitchen compost other than a small bin that sits on the counter – until now.

On April 22 (Earth Day!), Ryan and his mom launched their new business, 1Thing Green, with the premise that everyone’s small eco-friendly actions make a difference – collectivism is powerful! To learn more about the Eco-Sorter and 1 Thing Green, check out 1thinggreen.com or contact Ryan at Ryan@1thinggreen.com.

By Kara Navolio