DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to the sector of collection of organic waste and more in particular is aimed at the respect of hygienic and environmental conditions in the presence of the accumulation of organic waste both inside dwellings or other closed premises and out of doors by obtaining a temporarily non-polluting product.

Currently, the organization of differentiated collection of organic waste and the like adopts the methodology described below.

• The refuse is collected in a loose form, inside dwellings, in containers with non-airtight lids having a capacity of approximately five litres.

• When the containers are full, the organic waste is transferred, still in a loose form, into the bins provided by the bodies responsible for removal and delivery to the disposal/composting plants.

• The collection of the waste by the bodies responsible for said collection is also carried out in a loose form, with the undesirable effect of producing, above all in summer, a wake of evil-smelling odours due to the natural decomposition of the waste caused by exposure to air and to heat (i.e., ambient temperature) .

· The waste in a loose form and already in the process of decomposition is stocked, awaiting processing, in the accumulation areas of composting plants. Said areas are thus normally evil-smelling and in any case present the risk of. atmospheric pollution and constitute a source of contamination for the ecological operators who are required to perform their daily working activities in these structures.

The above methodology, as has been shown, does not envisage in any operating step the containment of the odours exhaled due to the natural decomposition of said waste .

The above fact leads to serious drawbacks that can be readily encountered. In fact, in dwellings, above all in summer, when the ambient temperature is in any case high, the decomposition is accelerated and the evil-smelling odours are exhaled both by the containers located inside dwellings and by the bins located in the street, with consequent deleterious effects on the propriety of quarters of towns (the bins are frequently evil-smelling, especially in the presence of highly decomposable waste, such as fish, etc.).

In an endeavour to overcome, albeit not definitively, the above drawbacks, all that the bodies responsible can do is to carry out disinfection of the bins with a regularity that inevitably leads to a rise in the operating costs.

It should moreover be considered that the bins, exposed to the open air, attract insects and animals (rats, dogs, cats, etc.). In particular, stray dogs also manage to turn the containers upside down, scattering the rubbish in the surrounding area. Furthermore, in the case of strikes of the personnel responsible for waste collection, the situation becomes really critical, to the point where it even involves dangers for public health.

Also known is a system for temporary storage of waste containing organic materials and the like prior to its delivery to and processing in the composting plants in conditions such as to enable elimination and/or containment of the evil-smelling odours. Said known system also envisages vacuum packaging of the waste for its subsequent delivery to plants for composting or other forms of treatment.

A problem of said known solution lies in the fact that the bags used for containing the waste and for its vacuum packaging frequently get torn on account of the presence, within the waste itself, of sharp/pointed objects or elements. Such tearing, which is to some extent inevitable, causes the impossibility of keeping the waste in vacuum conditions.

The task of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks referred to above by providing a process and an apparatus that enable shredding - before introduction of the waste into the bags - of the objects or parts of the refuse that could tear or perforate the containment bags .

The above result has been achieved with a process that envisages the following steps:

a) Shredding of the hard parts of the refuse that could tear/perforate the containment bags that are to be vacuum sealed,

b) Cooling of the organic waste inside dwellings to temperatures that can be regulated from freezing point to +10°C. Said cooling is aimed at slowing down decomposition, with consequent elimination/containment of the odours, c) Packaging in vacuum conditions {when the volume of waste that can be contained is reached) in biodegradable, compostable, recyclable containers (bags or the like) of the "Mater-Bi" type (a product with characteristics such as to maintain a property of use similar to plastic, but with the possibility of being disposed of like normal organic waste) .

According to a peculiar characteristic of the invention, shredding to elimintate the presence in the refuse of sharp and/or pointed elements is necessary to guarantee that the vacuum can be created and maintained .

The principle of cooling and/or freezing of the waste is of vital utility for the period in which the waste is kept in the house (or other premises) , waiting to be taken away to the bins purposely provided by the bodies responsible for disposal and/or other process. The low temperature will in fact slow down the natural decomposition of the waste, with consequent reduction/elimination of the evil-smelling odours.

The principle of formation of a vacuum and the subsequent sealing of the containers within which the waste is temporarily stored, in addition to bestowing upon the waste thus made up high mechanical characteristics of resistance to compression, guarantees for a sufficiently long period storage of the waste more or less in its original state, in so far as the absence of air within the wrapper slows down the process of fermentation. The shredded waste thus sealed does not allow odours and pollutant liquids to be released, with consequent containment of the operating costs sustained for sanitation/disinfection of the bins by the bodies responsible for waste collection and the possibility of handling the waste in time in the event of strikes or of other causes that may slow down the normal flow of removal and delivery to the composting plants.

Also forming the subject of the present invention is the apparatus for obtaining the product described above. Said apparatus, which is to be produced in various models and with various capacities (from 4 litres to 200 litres, with an optimal range of 10 to 30 litres) with manual, semi-automatic, and automatic operation, is substantially made up of a shredder associated to a sealed refrigerating container (whether ventilated or not) integrated by a device for the production of a vacuum.

Said vacuum device is preferably equipped with an interchangeable anti-odour filter (necessary for preventing release of evil-smelling odours into the environment during formation of a vacuum) and a heat- sealing apparatus.

In order to enable automatic sealing of the container bag when the pre-set weight is reached, the presence of a balance is envisaged, which will also have the function of switching on the refrigerating system upon detection of a minimum weight within the container, thus enabling containment of the levels of energy consumption. The latter option will in any case be selectable via an appropriate three-position (ON — OFF - STANDBY) selector. In the case where the weight is not reached on account of voluminous waste (e.g., vegetables, etc.), the process of formation of a vacuum in the bag and the heat-sealing thereof may be selected manually via a purposely provided push-button/selector.

According to a preferred embodiment, the machine is equipped with a container rack set at output of the shredder, to be installed within the refrigerating chamber, designed to contain the container bag and to prevent it from adhering to the inner walls of the machine itself.

As regards said container bag, there is advantageously envisaged the use of container bags made of biodegradable material of a "Mater-bi" type, a family of biodegradable thermoplastic materials developed and marketed by Novamont S.p.A. This is a new-generation bio-plastic derived from natural raw materials, which presents characteristics such as to maintain a property of use similar to plastic but with the possibility of being disposed of as a normal organic waste. Mater-bi is hence a material suited for being used with organic waste for producing compost.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge clearly from the ensuing detailed description, with reference to the attached plates of drawings, which illustrate, purely by way of non- limiting example, a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the plates of drawings :

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the apparatus as a whole, comprising a refrigerating chamber, a containment rack, and a service cabinet in which to install the vacuum pump and the refrigerating system, as well as the control panel;

Figure 2 is a detail at a larger scale of the device for fixing the bag in the container;

Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of the bag containing the waste when it is sealed;

Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of a shredder for the refuse to be introduced into the containment bag; and

Figure 5 shows a simplified version of the invention, in which the cooled container is connected to the refrigerating circuit of an external refrigerator of a known type.

With reference to Figure 1, the apparatus forming the subject of the invention comprises a shredder T, which discharges the shredded refuse into the refrigerating container 4, which is equipped with a refrigerating chamber 6, closed by a lid 7, in which the bag 8 made of biodegradable material is introduced. Provided in the service compartment 9. at the side of the chamber 6 is a suction system 10 for the formation of a vacuum, which comprises a suction pipe 12, which opens within the chamber 6 itself. The bag is fixed with its top edge to hooks 14 carried by two opposed assemblies 16 for blocking and sealing, which slide on horizontal rectilinear guides 18 between a distal resting position, in which they insert into two niches 20 that are open on the side walls of said refrigerating chamber 6, and a central position B, in which the edges of the bag are brought into contact with one another and welded together thanks to the action of heat-sealing heads 22.

As may be seen in Figure 2, each hook 14 is fixed within a recess 19 made on each of the opposed faces of the two assemblies 16. When the two assemblies 16 are set alongside one another for blocking the bag, the recesses form a closed chamber, located within which is the suction pipe 12. The two hooks are arranged symmetrically .

The organic waste is loaded into the bag 8. When the bag 8 is full, it is possible, when a pre-set weight is reached, to start off either manually or automatically the process of removal of air from the bag and to carry out subsequent heat-sealing thereof, producing a single completely odourless and recyclable waste.

In the embodiment illustrated, triggering of the process of removal of the air from the bag is rendered automatic by the presence, on the bottom of the refrigerating chamber, of a balance 24. Upon detection of a pre-set weight, the balance will activate the process of formation of a vacuum and the subsequent sealing of the container bag.

In order to contain the levels of energy consumption, the balance 24 itself also has the function of switching on the refrigerating system upon detection of a minimum weight within the container.

As may be seen in Figure 2, the two sliding assemblies 16 are provided, on the opposed faces, not only with hooks 14 but also with two sealing gaskets 26a and 26b that ensure hermetic sealing of the chamber formed by the recesses 19. The first of said gaskets, 26a, is positioned above the suction pipe 12 and the hooks 14, to which the edge of the bag is fixed. The second gasket, 26b, is positioned underneath the hooks 14 but above the heat-sealing heads 22.

Advantageously, envisaged in the service compartment 9, downstream of the suction pipe 12, is the insertion of an anti-odour filter 26 in such a way that the air taken in during formation of a vacuum is treated prior to being released into the environment.

From what has been said so far, the advantageous characteristics of the present invention are evident: a) Cooling of the waste is of vital importance during the period where the waste is kept in the house waiting to be taken to the bin. In fact the low temperature slows down decomposition of the waste, with the consequent elimination of the evil-smelling odours both in the case where the container is located within the dwelling or other premises (a kitchen or other environment) and in the case where it is located out of doors.

b) Vacuum sealing of the waste prevents emission of contaminating liquids and odours from the refuse bins located in areas in the proximity of dwellings, thus preventing both the phenomenon of concentration of insects and attraction of animals (rats, cats, stray dogs , etc . ) .

c) The presence of the shredder T prevents the bag from being torn or perforated, thus guaranteeing the possibility of creating and maintaining the vacuum. d) Waste that does not cause release of contaminating liquids reduces considerably any need for intervention of sanitation/disinfection of the refuse bins, with consequent economic saving in the operating costs, as well as limitation of pollution on account of the reduced use of chemical products required for cleaning and sanitation.

e) In the case of strikes and/or stoppages of the refuse-disposal plants, the waste can be stored for much longer times than those necessary for loose waste. f) The disposable biodegradable bag, like a normal organic waste, does not hinder the process of disposal .

g) The temporarily non-pollutant waste improves the quality of work of the ecological operators both in the step of removal and transportation of the waste and in the step of processing in the composting plants.

h) It is evidently possible to produce machines for the production of waste according to the invention both for domestic use and for collective use, for example for restaurants. Said apparatuses may be consequently designed for being integrated or otherwise in kitchen units just like other traditional electrical household appliances.

A simplified variant of the invention envisages connection of the cooling coil of the refrigerating chamber 6 directly to the household refrigerating system, which usually is installed in the immediate vicinity of the compartment in which the refuse container is housed (see Figure 5) .

In this way, it is possible to optimize the energy consumption and reduce the overall dimensions thanks to the absence of the motor/compressor for providing cooling of the refuse.

The above and other numerous modifications and variations may be made by persons skilled in the branch, without thereby departing from the sphere of protection of the present invention, as defined in the ensuing claims.