Gorgeous bench top compost system turns your scraps into a thriving indoor garden

Designed by Tokyo based product designer Chaozhi Lin, this bench top compost system makes it easier than ever to stop your food waste from going into landfill with the added bonus of being able to watch something grow right on your bench top.

The designer saw the huge amount of food waste which ends up in landfill and set out to create a product which helps to combat this problem. He also recognised that there is a growing interest from the younger generations in gardening, but a lack of available land due to spreading urbanisation. The solution was to bring gardens into people’s homes – cleverly solving two problems in one with his bench top compost system!

Chaozhi Lin expands on this and says, “zero waste is a concept that encourages the redesign of the life cycle of resources so that all products are reused. The goal is not to allow garbage to be sent to landfills, incinerators or the ocean. It can turn food waste generated by families into food on the table, help people grow at home, and bring green back to the city. By providing citizens with a gardening system, they can be completely self-sustained and aim to provide a more sustainable and more attractive future.”

Called KAGURA, the bench top compost system is compromised of three parts: a container for food waste, three soil pots and a light fitting. You simply tip your food scraps into the container on the left, which decomposes and fertilisers the soil for your plants.

There is also a floor-standing larger system called the Sustainable Family Farm which comes with an app and helps turn gardening into a fun activity for the whole family. It treats gardening as a game, with the “levels” shown as the plant’s growth stages.

The compost system won the 2020 European Product Design Award in not one but two categories! It deservedly won the Design for Society/Design for Sustainability award and the Home Interior Products/Household appliances award.

Related story: To halve our food waste by 2030, read about some ideas on how to achieve this here.