Raise your home composting game with Sepura

A quiet, stink-free garbage disposal to raise your home composting game.

Few of the world’s most ingenious inventions are inspired by admitted laziness — but here again, the Sepura eco-friendly garbage disposal breaks the mould. The product was dreamed up in 2018 by Victor Nicolov, CEO of Victoria, B.C.-based Anvy Technologies, after repeated frustrations with standard in-home models. The Sepura system uses proprietary technology to make home composting a (less smelly) breeze, landing it on TIME magazine’s list of Best Inventions of 2020. “My wife and I recycle and compost, but we don’t like doing it,” says Nicolov, who admits he’s had particularly bad luck with potato-peel clogs in the past. “I’m so happy that I can just put everything into this thing, push a button, and the problem goes away.”

What it is: A smart, energy-efficient garbage disposal that attaches to your kitchen sink, acting as a filter between the drain and pipe. Unlike a traditional garburator that wastes water and power, no grinding means no noise.

Why it’s worth considering: Recent statistics suggest that the average Canadian wastes a whopping 79 kilograms of food every year — the majority of which ends up languishing in landfills or causing serious infrastructure issues for cities. “Vancouver spends millions of dollars every year digging up the road and clearing out pipes, and a lot of food waste where I’m located, in Victoria, would just go directly into the ocean,” says Nicolov. He also notes the trend towards banning traditional garburators in cities worldwide for infrastructure reasons. “The main thing is to keep waste out of our drains and landfills — then people can do whatever they want with it.” Ever the creative thinker, Nicolov says his invention might inspire people to think bigger about what to do with all their leftovers. Composting works, of course, but he also points to at-home digesters, which convert food waste into dirt.

How the Sepura works: Once you’ve scraped your organic materials down the drain, the Sepura separates the solids into a sealed 10-litre “collection centre,” which can later be emptied into a compost bin. The liquids continue their journey onward, without the risk of cumbersome (and potentially expensive) clogs further down the pipe. The entire process takes about eight seconds. LED lights notify the user when the compartment is full.

Why it’s unique: There are a few reasons why this product made TIME’s Best Inventions list. The first is its distinct lack of odour and mess, which is thanks to the collection centre’s first-of-its-kind air circulation component. (This was a key add-on for Nicolov, who, like most dedicated composters, can acknowledge that “after a week, things start to smell pretty terrible.”) Typical garbage disposals cannot process tough materials, like bones, tea bags, paper towels, and avocado pits, but the Sepura can. Crucially, it does not grind the organics, which lowers its power-and-water consumption and prevents particulate from flowing further into the water-waste process. For that reason, it’s also really quiet.

Where to buy: Pre-order the Sepura on its website for December shipping (US$382). Stay tuned for more retail details.