Better compost, backed by data.
A small sensor in your bin reads temperature, moisture, oxygen, CO₂ and ammonia around the clock. CompostIQ works out which phase your pile is in and tells you when to turn it, water it or leave it be.
An RMIT capstone project. Your readings are only ever shared anonymised.
Know which phase your pile is in.
A healthy pile warms up, peaks, cools and matures over about seven weeks. CompostIQ reads the temperature and its 24-hour trend to place your pile on that curve, so you are never guessing.
- 01
Early mesophilic
Microbes wake up and the pile starts to warm.
28–45 °C · 1–3 days
- 02
Active thermophilic
Heat-loving bacteria take over and the pile heats fast.
45–60 °C · 2–4 days
- 03
Peak decomposition
The hottest stretch. Three days at 55 °C kills pathogens.
57–65 °C · 4–7 days
- 04
Cooling
Activity slows and the pile cools back down.
30–60 °C · 5–10 days
- 05
Maturation
Fungi and worms finish the job. Nearly ready to use.
28–32 °C · 24–36 days
- TemperatureWhere the pile is in its cycle
- MoistureToo dry stalls it, too wet sours it
- OxygenBelow 2 % it turns anaerobic
- CO₂How hard the microbes are working
- AmmoniaToo much nitrogen in the mix
Plug in, pair, and let the pile talk.
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1
Put a sensor in the bin
Push the probe into the middle of the pile and power it up. It joins your Wi-Fi and starts reading straight away.
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2
Pair it with a code
Your dashboard gives you a 6-digit code. Type it on the device's own page, then confirm the device and pick its bin.
How pairing works -
3
Get told when to act
Watch the live readings in your dashboard. When something drifts, an alert tells you whether to turn, water or add browns, and clears once the pile recovers.
It tells you what to do, not just what it measured.
When a reading drifts out of range, CompostIQ raises an alert with the fix. Mark it done and a short “stabilising” note takes its place until the readings settle.
- Temperature > 65 °CTurn the pile to release heatHigh
- Oxygen < 2 %Turn or aerate. It is going anaerobicHigh
- Moisture < 40 %Add water, about 3 L per 100 L of materialMedium
- Moisture > 65 %Mix in dry browns: leaves, cardboardMedium
- No reading for 2 intervalsCheck the device's power and Wi-FiMedium
- ≥ 55 °C for 3 daysPathogen-kill temperature reachedGood news
Every reading, anonymised and open to researchers.
Readings from CompostIQ bins feed a public dataset. Names, locations and device IDs are stripped out. What is left is the science: how real piles heat up, dry out and breathe.
Figures come from the CompostIQ API.
Where the bins are
Country level only. Every country with a bin is shown, nothing finer.
Start watching your pile.
Create an account, pair a sensor, and see your first reading in minutes.