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Good Design
Petal 2020
Petal 2020


Designers: Scott Henderson, Brian Petz, Primoz Cresnik, Petal, LLC., Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Manufacturers: Petal, LLC., Fort Worth, Texas, USA


Petal is a revolutionary appliance that does what no other disposal device on the market can: stops rot, eliminates stink, and halts the spread of germs. Its excellence lies in its conceptual simplicity and design elegance: a sleek, responsibly-sourced, scarily-efficient, and technically-unique appliance that freezes organic waste solid to 0°F in under 35 minutes. Uniquely designed to fit into any room of your home, Petal's patent-pending freezing technology makes it effortless for consumers to live in clean and healthy environments.

THE CHALLENGE
Throughout human history, the disposal of waste has looked pretty much the same. Centuries ago, we tossed our garbage in the street, creating dangerous and unsanitary conditions that encouraged the spread of sickness and stink throughout our communities. In 1875, we began storing our waste indoors. Almost nothing has changed since.

Whether food scraps in the kitchen, dirty diapers in the nursery, pet waste, or incontinence products, existing disposal solutions allow foul waste to sit, rot, and fester at room temperature for days on end, creating dangerous and unsanitary conditions that pollute our homes with horrible smells, mold, bacteria, and unwanted pests. The team tried filters, chemical air fresheners, and environmentally devastating single-use (and sometimes proprietary) plastic liners. But, at their core, waste bins are just open containers ripe with rot, stench, and germs. And they resigned to accept it. Until now.

THE SOLUTION
Petal is a familiar surprise. From the outside, Petal is a beautifully-designed, pedal-operated waste bin. Its unique design aesthetic communicates a democratic freshness – an accessible, friendly, and welcoming form that melds seamlessly within any home environment. Its outward three-dimensional statement confidently expresses its new and unique technology with lightness and optimism, evoking feelings of health and happiness versus the trashcan's necessary evil. On the inside, where it counts the most, Petal combines proven, high-efficiency refrigeration technology, advanced vacuum-panel thermal insulation, and an innovative design architecture to perform as a hybrid freezer/waste bin – naturally stopping odors and putting germs on ice, in a convenient, easy-to-use form factor. Its frigid temperature ensures that nothing leaks, and nothing sticks to the reusable plastic pail, eliminating the need for landfill-clogging, single-use plastic liners.

Designed with the user in mind, Petal changes nothing about people's existing habits. There is no learning curve. Using Petal is a familiar experience with a far superior--almost delightful--outcome. Simply plug Petal into a standard household outlet, put a bag in (if you so desire) and it is ready for use.

THE IMPACT
By stopping rot, eliminating stink, and halting the spread of germs, Petal's pioneering freezing technology is poised to supplant traditional disposal methods in the diaper, food, incontinence, feminine hygiene, and pet waste verticals, while reducing plastic pollution from single-use trash bags. The "ick-factor" is real, and by eliminating it, Petal will play a large role in the adoption of important and ambitious organic waste collection programs. Beyond the home, Petal's commercial uses are numerous. Petal has the potential to help every business and industry – from hospitals and nursing homes to daycare centers, restaurants, fairgrounds, and other spaces where sanitation is a public health concern.


Petal 2020
Petal 2020

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