Compost invention gets boy on TV

TRASHING WASTE: Ryan Nicholls no longer has to go outside to put out the compost, thanks to his clever invention.

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"I hate taking the compost out," says nine-year-old Ryan Nicholls of Glenfield.

Thanks to his clever Waste Away creation, he no longer has to.

And now his invention will feature in a TV show.

The Target Rd Primary pupil is one of 10 children starring in the TV2 programme Let’s Get Inventin’, after designing a contraption to transport food scraps into the compost bin without having to step outside.

It works by diverting scraps from the kitchen waste disposal into a funnel where solids are sieved out and sent into the compost bin.

Water from the waste disposal flows through a water wheel and down the drain, Ryan explains.

He did not expect to be selected from hundreds of hopefuls to have his design created on TV.

The show features invention ideas of Kiwi youngsters by building their designs which the public can then vote on, eliminating the number of contestants before judges pick the overall winner of a $10,000 prize pack.

Not everyone in the Nicholls household was thrilled about having Ryan’s invention come to life.

Mum Becky Murray-Nicholls admits she was initially against having the colourful contraption in her backyard but came around at the presenters’ offer to make over her veggie garden, she says.

Producer Luke Nola says Waste Away is something that many would find useful.

"With this one, everyone’s saying why don’t we have one of these in our home?"

He says the show is designed to teach children to be creative while valuing and protecting their ideas so they can make something from them.

The next series of Let’s Get Inventin’ starts on Sunday, August 24, at 5pm.

- © Fairfax NZ News