FIELDAYS FOLLOW UP
Page 42
July 2012
Ben’s invention casts bin in new light Broken wheelie bins and a desire for a better worm farm has led Auckland photographer Ben Bell on an entrepreneurial journey he never dreamed possible. Today the man who studied photography at Elam School of Fine Arts is director of hungry bin, a company which is exporting worm farms to the world. “It began when I decided there had to be a better way to farm worms in an urban situation,” says Ben, who had a stand in the Innovation Centre at the Fieldays in June. “I found out a lot of wheelie rubbish
bins had been damaged because they’d been picked up and emptied using the wrong equipment. so I began experimenting with turning them into worm farms.” The progressive steps Ben made were on display at the Fieldays. It was his decision to include a tapered throat inside the bin which was the breakthrough.
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The bins are manufactured in New “I discovered that the tapered Zealand from food grade plastic shape compressed the castings, and can take around 2kg of food encouraging the worms to move waste a day. to the surface layer to access “The average household profresh food, so improved the duces around one and efficiency of the farm.” a half kg of food waste Ben’s mobile worm farms (he each day.” retained the wheels from the The lid of a hungry bin is at a original bins) were a hit with comfortable operating height, friends who asked him to make and convenient to open and them one. close. Tight fitting, it prevents “I thought there might be a pests from entering but has sufwider demand so I began sellficient venting to create healthy ing them on Trade-Me.” airflow. The hungry bin The Waitakere City Council has wheels, making moving it gave Ben a grant of $14,000 light work. from its Waste Not Fund to fur“The unique shape of the ther his design because it could see the value of a system which A hungry bin inside which worms bin creates a large surface area, allowing all the worms living in the would reduce organic waste going devour household waste. hungry bin to easily access the food to landfill. scraps at the top – exploiting the fact they’re sur“Around 50 per cent of household waste is face feeders, and increasing their processing capacity. organic and currently waste from Auckland goes to “Once the compost process is complete, the hungry Hampton Downs, which is a 120k trip for trucks, so bin is designed to allow the simple and easy harvest of the costs are not only in landfill but also in transport both finished castings and liquid fertiliser. and collection.” “Harvesting castings does not involve any heavy, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise assisted Ben messy lifting. The floor of the bin is easily removed, to take part in its Escalator business development allowing approximately four litres of castings to break programme, through which he gained advice and away at the bottom of the taper. This allows the easy assistance from Deloitte and angel investors which removal of finished castings from the bin. Removing enabled him to raise the $1 million needed to launch the castings is a relatively clean process. Finished castthe company and manufacture the new and improved ings are largely free of worms.” hungry bins. Ben says the castings are used as garden fertiliser or “Now we have orders from the UK, Holland and as a medium for growing plant. The liquid which is Australia as well as New Zealand. The Auckland City Council has a bank of the bins and hotels and cafes are caught by a drip tray beneath the bin is a rich, odourBy Elaine Fisher free liquid fertiliser. using them too.”
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Protection for dolphin Maui dolphin have been given more protection under measures announced by Primary Industries Minister David Carter. Following a public consultation process, the existing recreational and commercial set net ban will be extended along the Taranaki coast from Pariokariwa Point south to Hawera, and out to two nautical miles. In addition, the use of commercial set nets between two and seven nautical miles in this area will be prohibited without an observer on-board. “Maui’s dolphins are critically endangered, with an estimated 55 adult animals remaining. The Government is taking this action to protect these dolphins while the Threat Management Plan is reviewed. This will be completed by the end of November. “While there is a high level of uncertainty about the activity of Maui’s dolphins in the Taranaki area, the fact remains that their small number necessitates this action. “At the same time, the Government is fully aware of the potential impact of this extended ban on the local fishing community which is why a review of the Threat Management Plan is needed,” he says. The review of the plan will reassess natural and manmade risks facing Maui’s and Hector’s dolphins and recommend how the greatest risks can be mitigated.
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