Even dirty diapers are tamed by the incessant cold of clean box.

As the sweltering summer hits Japan, a lot of unpleasant things come with it, from the extremely dangerous heat to everyone’s least favorite guests, cockroaches. But another awful side effect of summer is that the garbage really starts to stink, especially in Japan where lots of people eat fresh fish almost daily.

Here to remedy some of these problems is Nakanishi Kinzoku Kogyo and their product the clean box. By combining the technology of a standard kitchen freezer with the very sophisticated design of a bin, Clean Box can store your waste, especially organics, at -11 degrees Celsius (12 degrees Fahrenheit), stopping the production of bacteria known to cause stench.

This temperature may seem like an arbitrary tribute to spinal valvebut surprisingly, the threshold for diapers to smell horribly bad is -10 degrees, so lowering it one degree provides extra diaper protection while saving energy and wear and tear on equipment.

Nakanishi Kinzoku Kogyo came up with the idea in 2017 when they read people discussing putting trash in their kitchen freezers to eliminate odors online. This trick never really caught on because people weren’t crazy about putting dirty diapers next to their frozen peas, so the company decided that instead of putting garbage in freezers, they could put a freezer in a garbage can. A 2016 survey found that around one in five people have tried to put rubbish in the fridge or freezer, and of those only one in five have continued to do so.

The development of Clean Box has not been without its challenges. Arrangements for airflow, coolant and condensation had to be made in a very compact space. The first limited series of 100 clean boxes was launched in 2019 and sold out almost instantlyand in April this year, a crowdfunding campaign raised more than 40 million yen in pledges. They can now be increasingly seen in major home appliance stores across Japan with a price tag of 48,180 yen (US$358). Each Clean Box can hold 20 liters (4 gallons) and measures 69 x 23 x 44 centimeters (27 x 9 x 17 inches). The estimated energy bill to run one is around nine yen ($0.07) per day.

▼ 20 liters is equivalent to approximately 30 nappies or six “medium” garbage bags.

Online comments were cautiously optimistic. They liked the idea of ​​ridding homes of those awful smells, but also expressed concerns about energy consumption and other potential pitfalls.

“It’s a good idea.”
“Just put it in the fridge, I think.”
“I normally put fruit and vegetable peelings in a bag in the freezer…but I guess that wouldn’t work with layers.”
“Maybe designing an anti-odor bag would be better for not consuming electricity?”
“I feel like YouTubers are going to do some weird stuff with this stuff.”
“But when you take the bag out, doesn’t the frost make it all wet?” And would the bag be easier to break if it was frozen? »
“At this price, can’t you just buy a normal freezer and put garbage in it?”
“Why stop there? Let’s return them to nuclear energy too! »
“I think 10,000 yen is probably a more reasonable price.”

While not without its issues, the Clean Box has clearly been in high demand so far, and Nakanishi Kinzoku is currently looking to expand its sales to the hottest regions of the globe like Southeast Asia. They would probably do just as well with restaurants, which tend to have a lot of organic waste and better not smell like a dump.

So it’s possible Clean Boxes will become a mainstream sight before too long, but for those looking for a more low-tech method, the Tokyo Police have a good idea.

Source: FNN Online Prime, PR Times, My Game News Flash
Images: PR Times
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