Skip to content
Otis Harrison

Sustainability device · In progress

FrostBin

A freezer compost bin that kills odour and speeds decomposition.

FrostBin — final green compost bin rendering with sliding stainless lid
Year
2025
Discipline
Sustainability device
Materials
Iterative prototyping · CAD
Role
Design research, ideation, prototyping, user testing, CAD

A freezer-based compost storage bin. Freezing compost ruptures cell walls so it breaks down faster after thawing — and storing it in the freezer cuts odour and attracts fewer pests.

Context

Compost, frozen.

A freezer-based compost storage bin. As LA Compost notes, freezing compost ruptures cell walls, leading it to break down faster after thawing. Storing compost in a freezer also decreases odour and attracts fewer pests.

FrostBin — final rendering of the bin with its lid lifted off
The resolved bin: an injection-moulded HDPE drawer with a sliding stainless lid.

Process

Test for fit, then for capacity.

Design research led into ideation, prototyping, and user testing, then CAD modelling. Prototypes were tested for capacity and fit — settling on roughly 3.9 litres that slots cleanly onto a freezer shelf.

FrostBin — four cardboard prototypes labelled 1 through 4 with dimensions
Four cardboard prototypes, each tested for capacity and fit inside a freezer.
FrostBin — exploded CAD drawing of the drawer, shelf, and sliders
Drawer, waterjet-cut stainless shelf, and cold-drawn sliders — roughly 3.9 litres.

Renderings

FrostBin — final rendering, lid ajar
FrostBin — final rendering, top-down view
FrostBin — final rendering, lid lifted
FrostBin — the freezer-shelf context the bin was designed for