EcoSpin Bin

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  EcoSpin Bin - An automated compost tumbler for home gardeners

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  Dashboard to control the compost bin. Set the spin frequency, and monitor moisture level and temperature

Inspiration

Our inspiration for the EcoSpin Bin stemmed from a collective desire to create an efficient and sustainable solution for composting organic waste. We aimed to develop a system that would not only reduce waste but also provide an easy-to-use, low labor method for individuals or communities to produce nutrient-rich compost for gardening and agriculture.

What it does

The EcoSpin Bin is a rotating compost bin designed to facilitate the decomposition of organic materials through regular mixing and aeration. By rotating the bin, users can efficiently mix compost materials, accelerate decomposition, and maintain optimal conditions for microbial activity. The result is high-quality compost that can be used to enrich soil and promote plant growth.

How we built it

We sourced materials for our prototype from around the house, mainly cardboard for the base, ribbons to hold up the spinning bin axis, a metal straw for the motor shaft, and empty plastic food containers for the bin itself. The arduino and wiring are in a separate cardboard compartment underneath the bin, and the sensors come up from this compartment to measure moisture and temperature of the compost periodically.

Challenges we ran into

IoT: making sure all our variables worked well simultaneously, getting the "manual mode" of the dashboard to work independently of the scheduler. Getting the motor to spin correctly without a properly secured motor shaft going through the bin.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We were able to design the IoT dashboard and sketch to provide a seamless user experience when using the EcoSpin Bin. We were also able to get multiple sensors and the motor working together. Getting the motor to spin correctly/centered was difficult but we were able to make a hanging design to hold up the bin, helping the motor to spin correctly.

What we learned

For the IoT part of the project, we realized it was easier to imagine what the user workflow would look like first, then coding parts of that one at a time. It was also important to understand the variables that we were working with.

What's next for EcoSpin Bin

We could add a water pump to pump in water and keep the compost moist at the most optimal level, encouraging more microbial activity and allowing the food scraps to break down quickly. The EcoSpin Bin could also be scaled up using gears to spin a larger and heavier load of compost. We could also add load sensors to weigh how heavy the compost is, and change moisture content/spin frequency based on weight. We could also add a gyroscope to read how fast the bin is actually spinning, and make sure it stops spinning with the input flap facing upwards.

Built With

• arduino
• iot