Högskolan i Skövde

Sorting food waste is important to utilize it as fuel or fertilizer. Food waste is placed in food waste paper bags and then a waste suction system can be used to transport the waste to a processing factory. The current method of sealing food waste bags for a suction system is ineffective and expensive. This project researches if a solution of sealing the bags can be made easier to apply and cheaper to implement.

By observing the current system a requirement specification was created to make guidelines of what criteria the solution must achieve to give satisfactory results. This also resulted in two areas of development, the optimal seal and how the user is going to apply it.

To find a new solution to seal the bag, existing solutions in other areas of interest were investigated. This resulted in a discovery of a method for joining paper together, which due to legal implications will be called “Harry”. “Harry” can be applied to the bag in various configurations. Tests were conducted so that the strongest configuration was achieved. The winning configuration was then chosen as the seal to be implemented.

To develop how users are going to apply the seal, brainstorming was used to create different concepts and ideas. Three concepts were chosen to be tested using a focus group, feedback was given on all three concepts and the winner was “Concept 2” where the “Harry” technology is implemented in a fixed clamp on the food waste bag kitchen vessel. This solution was further developed and became the final concept.

The result improves usability and ensures that the end product can be used in a processing factory. There are however factors of concern, if the seal will hold in a real environment and if the solution is usable enough.