San Francisco Inventor has Cure for Half the World's Trash

NatureMill is a home composter, developed by San Francisco entrepreneur and inventor, Russ Cohn. NatureMill recycles its weight in waste every 10 days, diverting over two tons of waste from landfills over its life. By using the NatureMill, consumers can help reduce emissions of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas produced when organic matter decomposes in oxygen-starved landfills.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) September 27, 2005 -- Russ Cohn, an MIT graduate and highly successful entrepreneur, claims he can eliminate half the world's trash. If he is right, every household will have a home composter in the near future.

The founder of NatureMill, a San Francisco-based company, Cohn developed a machine that will turn food and paper scraps into compost without any smell or mess.    Small enough to sit in the corner of the kitchen, his composter turns waste into organic fertilizer for gardens.

Cohn himself has always been a passionate environmentalist. He holds an M.S. from MIT with a dual degree in mechanical engineering and technology policy and wrote his graduate thesis on environmental policy in the automotive industry.

After leaving MIT, he had two highly successful careers -- first as a management consultant and then as the founder of a telecommunications firm.

Yet he has always been concerned with environmental issues. "Fifty percent of landfills are food and paper waste," he says. "Our trash is embalmed for centuries, leaching toxic chemicals, and producing methane gasses. That's why it's so vital to recycle these waste materials more effectively."

When his home town, San Francisco, began a city-wide compost program, he put a compost crock in his own kitchen.

Cohn's foray into composting, though, did have some setbacks. He notes, "Compost needs constant attention -- emptying, mixing, monitoring moisture, and sorting all the ingredients. But one weekend I went out of town and forgot to empty the crock. When I got back, the smell was unbelievable. But it was warm! So I knew the natural composting process had already begun."

Using his science background, he began tinkering, trying to find a better solution to the compost problem. "People thought I was crazy," says Cohn, "[I mean crazier than usual! I'd had two terrific careers and yet, here I was, messing around in my basement with rotting food. "

Finally his passion paid off. "It took two years of experimentation," says Cohn, "but finally I got it right." The finished product, NatureMill, has a computer that controls mixing, air flow, temperature, and moisture. The machine does all the work of managing the natural compost process and it can be used indoors without any odors. Finished compost can be emptied every two weeks and used immediately as fertilizer.

Cohn is sanguine about the future of composting. "I believe composters will be like dishwashers or microwave ovens -- everyone will have one. Right now the average household produces four pounds of waste a day. Yet, if everyone used a home composter, we would eliminate half the world's trash."

That's a day Russ Cohn anticipates with relish.
More information can be found at http://www.naturemill.com.

About Nature Mill
NatureMill is a home composter, developed by San Francisco entrepreneur and inventor, Russ Cohn. NatureMill recycles its weight in waste every 10 days, diverting over two tons of waste from landfills over the course of its life. By using the NatureMill, consumers can help reduce emissions of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas produced when organic matter decomposes in oxygen-starved landfills. Compost returns nutrients to the environment, reducing our need for chemical fertilizers.

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