Many reusable and recyclable materials such as glass, plastic, metals, papers etc. are currently disposed of by the domestic householder collectively in bags or bins which are collected by the local authority and subsequently either incinerated and/or used in land fill sites or dump sites. Such methods of isposal are not only wasteful of many recyclable resources but also cause pollution to the environment.

It is an object of the present invention to avoid or minimise one or more of the above disadvantages.

The present invention provides a domestic waste processor characterised in that said processor comprises a housing having a plurality of inlet means connected by separate passage means to respective collection zones provided, in use, with removable containers, said processor further including compaction means formed and arranged for compaction of waste passing through said passage means, whereby in use of the processor a plurality of different types of waste may be introduced into respective inlet means, compacted, and then collected in respective containers which may be periodically emptied or disposed of.

Thus the domestic waste processor of the invention provides in a convenient and economic manner, means for collection of different types of waste in a form which substantially facilitates subsequent processing and recycling thereof whilst at t _ same time reducing the requirement for frequent waste collections by public

utilities to a greater or lesser extent.

Preferably said domestic waste processor is a domestic appliance generally similar in size and configuration to a washing machine, dish washer or the like and desirably is formed and arranged so as to be compatible .vith tne modular design system of modern fitted kitchens. Naturally though somewhat larger sizes may be used in e.g. hotels, restaurants etc for domestic-type waste. Preferably said passage means are formed and arranged for substantially gravity-fed operation of the processor.

Advantageously the passage means are formed and arranged upstream of the compaction means e.g. by means of a suitable cranked configuration, so as to restrict substantially user access to the compaction means through said passage means for safety reasons.

The inlet means are preferably provided with cover means formed and arranged to be moveable from an open position, to provide access for waste material to said passage means, to a closed position, wherein said cover means covers the inlet means. Desirably the cover means is provided with hygienic sealing means for minimising escape of foul odours etc. from the collected waste. Desirably said processor is provided with process over-ride means formed and arranged to stop said compaction means more or less immediate! should said cover means be opened during processing. Conveniently the removable containers are provided with hygienic closure means to protect the user during removal of filled containers from the processor and/or subsequent disposal e.g. to a community collection facility.

Any suitable method of compaction can be useα and may include for instance rotary paddle or blade compaction

means or reducing screw pitch type compaction means for compressing the waste material. Preferably each respective passage means is provided with individual compaction means, conveniently driven by electric motor means provided with control mee is formed and arranged for automatic or semi-automatic operation upon introduction of waste material or for manual operation, as required by the user. The type of compaction means selected for each respective passage may depend on the type and nature of waste material to be compacted by respective compactor, for instance rlass and metal require more rigid and aggressive compaction means than do paper and organic waste, but for convenience and ease of manufacture, the same type of compactor may be used in each of the passage means.

As used herein the expression "compaction means" indicates means for effecting any process which has the result of reducing to a greater or lesser extent the volume occupied by the waste material. Thus the "compaction means" of the invention includes means for compressing waste and/or for reducing the size of pieces of waste by any suitable process including for example tearing, shredding, grinding, and cutting. It will of course be appreciated that different processes may be preferred for different types of waste. Thus, for example, metal cans may be simply compressed, whilst glass bottles can be ground into small pieces which readily pack together in a much smaller space, and paper and vegetable matter may be comminuted by threshing, cutting, shredding or tearing, and then compressed.

Thus a wide variety of compaction means may be used in the processor of the invention. In general though a rotor driven at greater or lesser speed is preferred. Various forms of rotor may be used, which may moreover

be formed and arranged for co-operation to a greater or lesser extent with an opposed wall means. In general the rotors are provided with waste material engagement means which may be in the form of circumferentially and/or laterally spaced apart teeth; cutting blades extending in- the plane of rotation of the rotor or obliquely relative thereto; or paddles extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of rotation.

The rotors are desirably formed and arranged so as to be driven sufficiently fast to process the waste material more or less quickly and/or to achieve a substantial degree of comminution In general the rotors will be driven at a speed of from 10 to 200 r.p.m., e.g. from 40 to 80 r.p.m., preferably from 50 to 60 r.p.m. for rotors used for comminution.

Advantageously the processor is provided with wall means formed and arranged for co-operation with one or more rotors to assist in comminution and/or compression. In general the wall means are disposed opposite part of the rotor periphery so as to define a restricted passageway between the rotor periphery and the wall means for waste material, desirably with a progessively reducing spacing between the rotor periphery and the wall means so that waste material carried along the passageway by the rotor s more or less progressively compressed between the rotor periphery (including any waste material engagement means such as teeth, blades or paddles, thereon) and the wall means to facilitate comminution tr.ereof and/or to compress the waste material. If desired the wall means may also be provided with such waste material engagement means further to facilitate comminution.

Conveniently the inlet means ire clearly identified as to which type of waste material can be inserted to

ensure that different waste materials are collected separately. Advantageously sensor means may be provided around the entrance to the passage means to detect the presence or otherwise of material, wherein said sensor is formed and arranged to activate the compaction means operation.

In use of an inlet means identified for metal, said passage means is conveniently provided with magnetic separator means formed and arranged for separating ferrous and non-ferrous metals into respective compaction means and collection zones.

For hygienic purposes and for ease of emptying and/or collection, said removable containers are conveniently provided with disposable linings e.g. bags of suitable plastics material e.g. high density polyethylene HOPE, that are easy to remove, replace and handle. For greater convenience said removable containers once full, are formed and arranged to allow themselves to be disposed and recycled along with their contents.

Preferably the waste processor of the invention is provided with an internal washing system whereby upon completion of the compaction cycle, water from the domestic water supply is piped through the processor and desirably having had mixed therein a detergent, to form a cleaning agent is introduced .nto the passage means so as to wash those parts of the waste processor that have come into contact with waste material. The washing system may be provided with nozzle means so as to direct a cleaning agent at more or less high pressure to areas within the waste processor, for instance the compaction means, which may require more rigorous cleaning than the inlet chute for instance. The washing system is also provided with an effluent discharge means which may

include a pump to pump the used cleaning agent that has drained to the bottom of the tank into the domestic drainage system.

Further the waste processor of the invention may be provided with an extractor fan formed and arranged to suck air out of the processor and hence remove any ur.oleasant odours after use of the system. This feature in combination with the hygienic sealing means mentioned supra provides for a waste processor which is not unpleasant in or after use. The detergent added to the washing system desirably has a pleasant smelling fragrance added thereto further to minimise the effects of any unpleasant odours that may emanate from the waste material.

In the interest of safety, the materials useα to manufacture the waste processor of the invention will be able to resist the corrosive, sharp, abrasive, inflammable etc. materials that the processor handles. Desirably also the inlet and passage means have smooth surfaces and corners to prevent jamming and subsequent build up c_ waste materials, in addition to facilitating cleaning of said inlet and passage means.

The present invention also provides a method of facilitating the recycling of domestic waste material comprising the steps of: providing a waste processor of the invention; separating the waste material into different categories; and introducing the different categories of waste into different inlets of said processor, for compaction and

-ollection in separate respective containers therein.

Further preferred features and advantages of the present

invention will appear from the following detailed description given by way of example of some preferred embodiments illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Fig. I is a partially cut-away perspective view of a waste processor of the invention;

Fig. II is a sectional side elevation of a similar waste processor with a modified form of compaction means; Figs. Ill and IV are sectional side elevations of further preferred embodiments of the invention; and Fig. V is an orthogonal view of a preferred embodiment of compaction means sectioned along line A-A of Fig.l

With reference to Figs. I and II a waste processor 1 of the invention comprises a housing 2, four waste material containers 4, four inlet apertures 6, delivery chutes 8 and a compactor 10.

In more detail Fig. I shows the housing 2 having six sides including a front side 12 having at its top portion 14, four entrance apertures 6 each covered and sealed by a hinged 16 -perable covering plate 18. The lower portion 20 of the front side 12 has four generally oblong apertures 22 formed and arranged to said f:ur waste material containers 4 which are slidably fitted into position.

Waste material 24 is first separated by the user into predetermined categories such as paper, organic waste, glass, metal and plastic. In this specific embodiment cover plate 18a is marked for use on_y with "paper", plate 18b "plastic", plate 18c "organic matter" and plate 18d for "metal" etc.

Waste material 24 is introduced into the appropriate inlet aperture 6 and slides, under the force of gravity,

down a delivery chute 8 comprising an upstream portion of a respective passage means towards the compactor 10. An electric motor, 26, operable by an externally mounted switch 28, powers an endless drive belt 30, which causes the compactor 10 to rotate. The rotation of the paddles 32 as the material 24 enters said paddles 32 causes said material 24 to be crushed into a more or less compacted form 34. In more detail, the crushing action is achieved by the paddles 32 on the compactor 10 engaging waste material 24 and forcing the waste material 24 against an opposed wall 35. The opposed wall 35 is formed and arranged such that the spacing bet ^** een the paddles 32 and the wall is progressively reduced so that waste material 24 driven by the engaging paddles 32 is gradually compressed by the action of the paddles 32 against the wall 35. The now compacted form 34 of waste 24 then falls into a corresponding waste material container 4 disposed in a respective collection zone downstream of the compactor 10. Once full the container may be removed, emptied and replaced. Conveniently the processor is provided with sensor means 36 for detecting a "full" condition of each container 4, which sensor is connected to suitable audio and/or visual signal output means 38 for alerting the user to such "full" condition.

Fig. II shows a generally similar processor in which is used a modified compactor 10 with deeper paddles 32 -■* ^* hich may be preferied for more compressible material such as paper and organic waste.

Fig. Ill shows a processor generally similar to those in Figs. I and II and will be described with reference to the embodiments in Figs. I and II and indicated by like reference numbers.

The housing 2 contains two compactors 10 a, b, both of which are powered by an electric motor 26 via respective endless drive belts 30 a, b. The inlet apertures 6 a, b and the inlet chutes 8 a, b are positioned _ne above the other to maximise space utilisation in the waste processor 1. The processor 1 is provided with an extractor fan 40 and outlet duct 42 to extract unpleasant odours from the processor l.

The processor 1 is also provided with a washing system 44 which comprises an inlet pipe 46 connected to the domestic water supply (not shown) and an outlet pipe 48 connected via a discharge pump 49 to the domestic drainage system. Water from the water supply is mixed with a detergent (not shown) and is sprayed through nozzles 50 a, b onto the waste compactors 10, the movement of the rotating compactors 10 assisting in washing of the paddles 32 thereof. The resulting effluent 52 drains to the bottom 54 of the processor 1 through a series of channels 56, the channels 56 -eing protected by sieves 57 formed and arranged to prevent any large or solid compacted waste material 34 from entering the effluent discharge pump 49. If desired he effluent pump 49 and the extractor fan 40 may be combined in a single unit (not shown) .

it will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to the above described embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thus for example a reducing pitch screw may be used as a compactor 10 and the number of inlet apertures 6 increased or decreased where a greater or lesser degree of specificty is required in the sorting of the waste material e.g. to allow for further manual sorting of metal waste into ferrous and non-ferrous categories, or glass waste into clear and coloured. Preferably though

as shown in Fig. IV there is used a single inlet aperture for metal together with a separator means for automatically sorting into ferrous and non-ferrous categories since many users may not be readily able to distinguish these categories themselves. In more detail the delivery chute 8 has a section 58 hingedly mounted 59 at one end 60 remote from the compactor 10 for pivotal movement between a first position (shown in solid line) and a second position (shown in dashed outline) . An electromagnet 61 is mounted above the chute section 59 and spaced therefrom so as to attract and retain ferrous metal waste fragments 61 while allowing non-ferrous metal fragments 63 to pass down the chute section 59 in its normally disposed first position, into a non-ferrous metal waste container 4A. When the non-ferrous metal has all passed through, the end 64 of the chute section 59 remote from the hinge 58 is unlatched 'any suitable latching means 65 may be used e.g. solenoiα operated latching means) to allow the section 59 to move to its second, lowered, position in which it is inclined in an opposite direction to its normal position, leading tc a ferrous-metal waste container 4B. Upon deactivation of the electromagnet 61 the ferrous metal fragments 62 held thereby fal_ onto the chute section 59 and then pass down along it into the ferrous-metal waste container 4B, Subsequently the chute section 59 is restored to its normal first position by any suitable means e.g. piston and cylinder means, cam means, linkage means etc. (not shown) . Conveniently the waste containers 4A, 4B are mounted n a basket or the like to facilitate removal of filled containers and insertion of fresh ones.

Fig. V shows in more detail the compactor 10 in Fig. The compactor 10 comprises a generally cylindrical barrel 66 having a series of generally radially

projecting elongate ribs 67 extending longitudinally therealong. Each rib 67 has a radially outer edge 68 to which is rigidly fixed an angle member 72 so as to form together therewith a paddle member 32. The angle member 72 is made from hardened steel and has a sharpened leading edge 74 for cutting waste material. A radially extending end plate 69 at each end of the barrel (only one end shown) prevents waste material engaged by the paddle members 32 from falling onto a support spindle 70 of the barrel 66 and fouling it. The opposed wall 35 which co-operates with the rotating paddles 32 for compressing waste material is in the form of a generally flat wall portion extending general tangentially to the outer surface of the rotor so as to be substantially convergent therewith, which flat portion leads into an . arcuate portion extending around under the rotor in generally close proximity to the rotor surface. In general the greatest compaction occurs in the area 35c where said flat and arcuate portions 35a, 35b meet and the greatest forces are exerted on the wall 35 thereat. Desirably therefore this part 35c of the wall 35 is provided at its rear side with a strengthening plate 71.

A drainage channel 56 is provided to facilitate drainage of liquid material to the effluent discharge pump. A sieve 57 is disposed across the drainage channel 56 in order to prevent any large or solid compacted waste material from entering the effluent discharge pump.

In yet mother possible modification the extractor fan 40 could be mounted at a lower part of the waste processor as required to optimise foul odour removal.