BioLock Active

If You Have Dogs, You Know This Problem

Dog waste left in the open creates two issues that never go away on their own: the smell spreads, and flies gather.

Most solutions ask you to bag it and bin it, or bury it, or hose it away. But none of those actually solve the odour problem while the waste is waiting for disposal. And none of them stop the flies.
BioLock Active does both — by keeping the waste contained and covered from the moment it's added.

Two Products. One Natural Material.

BioLock Active now comes in two formats — same material, same core mechanisms, but different applications for different needs. BioLock Active is a contained bucket system for smaller households. BioLock Active+ is designed for direct use in the yard, suited to larger properties, bigger dogs, or anyone managing waste across an open outdoor space. The poster below explains both products and helps you find the right fit in about thirty seconds.

Three Steps. One Contained System

Step 1: Add the waste to the bucket

Step 2: Cover it with the material (we'll explain what this is in a moment)

Step 3: Close the lid

The covered container keeps the odour inside. The material absorbs moisture and completely blocks the waste surface — cutting off the air access and chemical signals that flies need to locate a breeding site. Within 2–3 days, you'll notice the difference: less smell, fewer flies, and stable conditions inside the bucket. The system works because it contains the problem at the source instead of trying to manage it after it's already escaped.

But here's where it gets interesting

The material doing the work isn't just any absorbent. It's something specific. Something natural. And understanding what it is changes how you think about waste entirely.

The Material That Makes This Work

The covering material in BioLock Active and BioLock Active + is mealworm frass.

If you've never heard that term before, you're not alone. Mealworm frass is the natural byproduct of insect farming — specifically, the excreta of Tenebrio molitor, the yellow mealworm. For years, frass was treated as waste from the insect farming industry. Then researchers started looking at it more closely.

What they found changed everything.

Read detailed article here

Physically, it's ideal for this job:

Dry and fine-textured (absorbs moisture on contact)
Near-neutral pH (6.5–7.5)
Covers waste surfaces completely, cutting off air and access

In Simple Terms:

pH measures how acidic or alkaline something is, on a scale of 0 to 14. Neutral is 7. Most garden soil likes pH between 6 and 7.5. Mealworm frass sits right in that sweet spot, so it doesn't shock the soil when added.

But there's more to it than that.

Mealworm frass isn't inert. It's biologically active and contains:

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium
Beneficial microorganisms are naturally present in the mealworm gut
Chitin fragments from shed exoskeletons feed and multiply beneficial bacteria.
Organic matter that microbes recognise as food

In other words,

This isn't just a physical barrier. It's a living material that interacts with waste in ways that stabilise it faster than inert materials would. And that's why it works so well in a contained system — one that keeps the waste covered, the frass active, and the environment around it clean.

But it also raises a question.

If this material is that biologically active... what happens when you dispose of it?

Where Does It Go When the Bucket Is Full

Dispose of the contents according to your local waste practices. For many people, that means adding it to the compost pile.

Dog waste on its own doesn't compost well. It's too wet, too dense, and too nitrogen-heavy without enough carbon to balance it.

But dog waste covered in mealworm frass has been observed to behave differently.

How it behaves:

The frass has already started stabilising the waste
It's absorbed the moisture.
It introduced microbial activity.

When it enters a hot compost system, the nitrogen in the frass, the carbon in the organic matter, and the microbes already present all accelerate the breakdown of the waste itself.

Peer-reviewed research shows that mealworm frass:

Supplies nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that become available as the material breaks down.
It is associated with microbial communities that naturally crowd out harmful bacteria - a mechanism well-documented in soil research.
We are gathering real-world observations from BioLock Active users to validate this in a waste containment context.

In Simple Terms:

Competitive Microbial Activity: Imagine a crowded room. If it's already full of friendly people, there's no space for troublemakers to get in. That's what happens in soil — when beneficial bacteria from frass colonise the space, harmful bacteria and fungi struggle to establish themselves. It's biological crowding, not chemical killing.

So what started as a waste containment solution ends as a compost catalyst.

You solved your odour problem. And in the process, you're feeding the system that feeds your soil.

Important legal note: We're not selling this as a composting aid or fertiliser. We're telling you what the material is, what the science says it does, and what people commonly use it for after disposal. What you do with it is your decision.

If you compost it, make sure your compost reaches proper temperatures (above 55°C for several days) to safely break down pathogens from the dog waste. That's standard composting practice.

The 55°C rule explained

The temperature isn't something you set — it's something your compost pile achieves when the conditions are right. Our detailed article explains the four conditions that drive it, and what the science says about composting dog waste specifically.

Read detailed article here

What Research Shows About This Material

Mealworm frass is backed by peer-reviewed science across multiple fields: agriculture, soil health, and microbial ecology.

Verardi et al. (2025)

Comprehensive review of frass composition.

→Read Here

Khobragade et al. (2026)

Documents the safety and prebiotic effects of chitin in poultry and livestock systems.

→Read Here

Multiple field trials

Crop yields and soil structure improvement.

→Read Here

We curate the latest research on our Research & Articles page.

Research and Articles

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I put the contents in my garden after disposal?

Mealworm frass on its own is rich in nutrients and documented as beneficial for soil, but when mixed with dog waste, composting first is essential. We recommend composting it first in a hot compost system (55°C+ for several days) to break down any pathogens. Once properly composted, it can enrich your garden beds.

What if the bucket still smells?

Your bucket lid has ventilation holes that support airflow — ensure these are not blocked. Add more frass to cover the waste surface fully. Complete coverage of the waste by frass is the critical variable.

How is this different from composting dog waste directly?

BioLock Active is a containment system, not an active composting process. It stabilises the waste and controls odour while you're storing it. What you do after disposal — composting, municipal bin, burial — is up to you based on your local practices.

Where does the frass come from?

We source our mealworm frass from a local insect farmer in South Africa who produces mealworms for animal feed. The frass is a clean byproduct of that process — collected, dried, and packaged with no additives or treatments.

Can I use BioLock Active+ indoors or in a contained space?

Yes — we use it in our own house for our indoor chickens, sprinkling frass directly over droppings on the floor, and it works just as well as an outdoor application for odour and fly control. If your dog has an accident indoors, sprinkling a little frass over it will absorb moisture and reduce odour immediately, making collection easier. Nobody is going to leave waste on the floor — but frass makes the cleanup quicker and less unpleasant. For ongoing contained management of dog waste, the BioLock Active bucket system is the right product for indoor or semi-indoor use.

Usage Instructions

BIOLOCK ACTIVE

Download Instructions Here

Note: BioLock Active bucket lids now feature passive ventilation holes that support aerobic conditions inside the system. Our trials confirmed that drilled ventilation performs as well as leaving the lid fully open for odour and fly control — while keeping the system contained. No tape or covering is required. Simply use the bucket as normal with the lid closed

BIOLOCK ACTIVE +

Read detailed instructions here

Share Your Experience

Tell Us What You're Seeing

We're gathering real-world data to validate and improve this system. Your observations help.

We track: odour changes, fly activity, moisture levels, breakdown progression, ease of use, and whether you'd continue using the system.

Your feedback is anonymous unless you provide contact details. We use this data to refine BioLock Active and to support future scientific studies.

Who We Are

BioLock Active is a product of Time Alchemy Consulting (Pty) Ltd — a South African company that engineers practical systems by studying how nature already solves problems.

This product began on our own homestead. We had 16 chickens, 2 turkeys, 4 dogs, and a persistent fly problem. We'd been using mealworm frass in our garden for years, but it wasn't until we applied it to dog and chicken/turkey waste that we saw what it could really do.

The observation became an experiment. The experiment became a system. And now we're sharing it.

We're chemical engineers and mycologists who believe the best solutions come from understanding natural processes — then designing systems that work with them, not against them.

BioLock Active and BioLock Active + are the first products in a growing waste-to-value platform. More coming soon.

BioLock Active is a simple contained system for managing dog waste — using a natural material that does something remarkable

Keep reading

If You Have Dogs, You Know This Problem

Dog waste left in the open creates two issues that never go away on their own: the smell spreads, and flies gather.

Two Products. One Natural Material.

BioLock Active