Avoca resident Greg Hales has been awarded the inaugural Swane Innovator Trophy for his composting invention, the Composting Cannon, in the Nursery and Garden Industry, NSW and ACT’s Fusion Innovation Awards.
The awards, which are part of the annual Green Expo Sydney, took place at the end of May at Rosehill Gardens. The Expo showcased 35 entries, from both greenlife and non-greenlife categories, with awards being given to products which reflected on the key criteria of innovation, excitement and performance.
Greg, an environmentally conscious carpenter, created the one-step composting solution himself, a product which takes compost straight to where plants and vegetables are growing. In addition to the Swane Innovator Trophy, Greg’s pioneering product also took out two other awards at the Green Expo Sydney – the Gold Award in the non-greenlife Fusion category and the People’s Choice Award, which was judged by visitors to the two day event.
“I was surprised and humbled to win the Inaugural Swane Innovator Award and I certainly didn’t expect it,” said Greg. “I came up with the idea for the Composting Cannon when I put scraps into my compost bin late in the afternoon one day and a rat ran out of the bin. “That started me thinking about how I could do my composting without attracting rats or vermin – and that’s where I came up with an environmentally friendly composting solution,” he explained.
The Composting Cannon is a simple, efficient and clean alternative to bulky composting gardens and fi ts into even the smallest of gardens. The kit comes with three 100% reconstituted cardboard cylinders with built-in aeration holes, three steel mesh anti-vermin caps and a recycled plastic plunger. The product is unique in the fact that the entire composting process takes place in the ground, which means all the nutrients from the compost are directly fed into the garden bed, pot or vegetable patch.
“Once the biodegradable cannon is buried, it can be loaded with organic waste, packed down with the plunger and the cap covered to prevent vermin,” said Greg. “After around four months the Composting Cannon can dispose of approximately 25 kilograms of waste, creating the ideal breeding ground for nutrient-rich soil and earthworms, which is perfect for garden and plant growth. “Not only is it great for the environment, but the Composting Cannon promotes healthier soil, which leads to healthier vegetables and that can mean a healthier you,” he added.
Following the recent support and acknowledgement of the gardening and nursery industry, Greg is now speaking with a number of large hardware and garden suppliers to discuss stocking his product in stores. “I have been overwhelmed with the response to the Composting Cannon, both locally and in the gardening and nursery industry nationally.
“It is a real honour to have my product receive such worthy awards and I look forward to expanding my business to help out other green thumbs,” he concluded.
Media release, 2 Jul 2014
Katey Small,
Brilliant Logic