Mill Food Recycler Review: Trendy and Expensive

i don’t think so Like composting.

I know this is almost heretical, living just outside of Portland, Oregon, a central hub of environmental consciousness, but I hate having a container of slimy, rotting scraps sitting on my kitchen counter, attracting fruit flies and making my house smell like federal prison prunes, especially during the hot summer months.

Instead, our family of three relies on an in-sink garbage disposal, which is not a good idea. Our septic tank repair guy is adamantly against it. Also, garbage disposals are not a good idea for people without septic systems because they flush food waste into waterways. When we throw food in the kitchen trash, it eventually ends up in our local landfill, where leftover food makes up 24% of municipal solid waste. As it decomposes, it produces dangerous methane gas.

To address this issue, many cities have their own composting programs, but the rural suburbs where I live don’t have any, forcing me to choose between a normal-smelling kitchen and one that actively contributes to global warming. That’s why I was particularly intrigued by the Mill, an odorless, automated food recycling bin invented by Matt Rogers, a former Apple engineer and co-founder of smart thermostat pioneer Nest.

As a family that frequently cooks its own meals, we trialled the mill for six weeks, hooking it up to a power meter to test its output and cost of use, as well as loading it with as many different food scraps as we could (including sauces, hundreds of egg shells and a particularly nasty piece of melon rind) to see whether this particularly pricey container was a worthwhile addition to our household.

From the Basics

There’s no denying that at 50 pounds, about 27 inches tall and 16 inches wide, the mill takes up a lot of space. Even in my fairly large kitchen, it was difficult to find a spot to put the mill that was within reach, out of the way, and within a few feet of a power outlet. For those with limited counter space, the mill’s floor-mounted position may be an advantage over countertop competitors like the Lomi.