Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

Works like they say it does, and small enough to fit nicely in a cramped kitchen. We use it every day for our vegetable trimmings, fish heads, and coffee. Instructions are a bit wordy but they get the point across. It wish it were less expensive and I would by another for our office.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

Ordinarily I wouldn't put the words "easy" and "compost" in the same sentence. I mean, normally it involves worms, odors, hauling, tumbling, a pitch fork, or all of this above. So when I heard about this machine naturally I was intrigued and went ahead with it. I was expecting a sealed up box with a filter so that the odors would be contained inside. That much is true, but even when you open it there are no odors. It kind of smells like cut grass. It gets hot in there and you can see steam rising some times, so the heat seems to kill the bad odors. It also has a motor to mix several times per day. It kicks on sometimes during dinner and you can hear it mixing and grinding down that compost without lifting a finger.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

I really like this machine. It works pretty much as they describe. I have made many batches of compost and my plants are loving it. There is no odor. The only complaint I have, is that it takes a bit of getting used to and you really have to follow their instructions. This is kind of like relearning to compost. I thought I was pretty good at composting. But this machine has a different process. On the plus side, it handles meat and dairy products and I have even tried fish and that is fine. On the minus sude, you have to carefully balance the greens and browns or else you get very wet compost. They include sawdust pellets which helps a lot.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

Don't get me wrong, this is a good composter. It's very easy to use and solidly built for many years of use. It comes fully assembled and is vairly easy to use.

But it is not perfect. The main draw back is that it can't be used for yard waste because it is just too small. It's ok for kitchen scraps if that is your main purpose. I hear it can also be used for doggy do - so it will be useful for pet owners. But if you have serious yard debris like I do, you will still need a traditional compost pile outdoors.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

This is definitely NOT a good machine for professional landscaping. The capacity is very limited. If you have piles of leaves or raised beds, I recommend an old fashion compost pile. Having said that, this is the first composter that my wife will actually use. It is ideally suited for table scraps. It is very simple to use and you can keep it indoors. There is no turning or heavy lifting required. You won't get very much compost out but, adequate capacity for a small flower bed.

The other thing I want to add is that the compost comes out very fine and loamy. This saves the step of sifting. Again, it is convenient, if you need only limited quantities.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

I can't say enough about this composter. Long ago I tried backyard pile composting, and my sad little heap is still sitting out there getting shorter and shorter with each passing year. It was so much work for so little gain, not to mention the occasional encounter with our neighborhood possum. An automatic composter is definitely the way to go. Thanks Nature Mill!

Now I have to warn people that this composter takes a little practice. My first few batches were terrible. You HAVE to follow the recipe that they give in the instructions. Since everything happens at an accelerated pace in this machine, if you get the green-brown mix wrong you will know right away with some very musty-sour odors. But if you follow the recipe you will know because it has an olive-straw kind of smell. It's hard to describe but let me put it this way - it smells MUCH nicer than the inside of my fridge most days.

I will not be surprised if this becomes as common as a paper shredder in a few years. I mean, why wouldn't people buy one? The price is a bit high. If they can work on that then it will definitely be the next craze.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

Well it's about time somebody invented this type of gadget! I have struggled many years in my backyard trying to make compost. It never really worked. Probably because I didn't mix it very often. Also because the winters are long and cold here and then it rains so not much time for compost to "happen."

This machine takes all the guess work out of composting. On second thought, it takes out all the work, period. Just drop your scraps in there and then it takes it from there.

I do have one complaint that it makes a hum sound all the time. It's no louder than my fridge, but then that is one more noise maker in my kitchen. It can be kept inside a cabinet, and I may be ready for that step soon. It has gotten a little quieter over time as they said it would in the instructions. It's also a little expensive but not much more expensive than buying worms all the time.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

I use it everyday, this thing eats stuff up faster than my Brother-in-law. It's a no brainer (if you just follow the instructions) I've had no problems getting very good compost. I don't add dirt every time I start a new batch, but I do use a live compost starter, (even though they say not to. My compost smells like fresh dirt and my plants love it. Baking soda is a must, I sprinkle a little each time I add green and follow up with fresh sawdust (NOT treated sawdust) and some of the neighbors dried leaves (crushed) which always fall in my yard. I don't mind chopping contents into small pieces as it is worth the little effort to produce the best that "Mother Earth" can provide. Don't have a problem with compost "balling" up and the tea produce has my flowers still blooming outside (I live in Central Fl. and it's in the low 50's at night. I just can't say enough about this machine, thanks again for a wonderful product.
Diener777

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

This is a really great product. My husband bought it because he saw one at work. We have been using it for months. It takes a little while to set it up and read the instructions regarding the first batch. You have to establish the composting cultures which eat the trash. If you don't establish those correctly, you will get odors. But ours has been very well behaved and odor free for the whole time we have owned it.

The compost happens incredibly fast. Once you add food scraps into the machine, they quickly start to heat up and due to the mechanisms of the machine and the very well insulated walls. Then a few hours later everything looks black and smells like mushroom.

My biggest problem is that you can not do orange rinds or other types of acidic citrus items. We do a lot of fresh squeezed juice so this is a minor annoyance for us. But the Nature Mill will handle things like meat and cheese which is more than other composters will handle.

So in general, this is a good solid little machine and definitely the wave of the future, when you consider the cost of global warming and other environmental problems that we are facing.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

What a great way to make compost - automatic and without stepping outside. After using this composter for about two months, I have made three or four batches of wonderful compost. It takes a little getting used to but once you get the hang of it you wonder how you ever did it the outdoor way. There are no odors if you follow the instructions. You have to be careful to not add any peach pits or other hard items as these will cause it to jam.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

Composter was available is many colors, but these were basically stickers that promptly peeled off. I keep my composter outside in a sheltered location due to noticable odor and risk of spilling compost in the house. I put most household kitchen waste into composter: old bread, veggie scraps, egg shells, shredded plain napkins/paper towels, coffee grounds, etc. I do not use meat products although the manufacture notes that they can also be used. It is very important to limit acidic items and cut materials into small sizes. Long fibrous items tend to wrap around the mixing rod and bind it up. I have found it is very important to use baking soda to help balance the acidity and use wood pellets (from manufacture) or similar items to balance moisture. Although my unit is very effective at quickly making compost due to the ideal heating/moisture, it has not successfully dumped from the upper chamber to the lower. I have attempted a number of fixes including a retro-kit from the manufacturer, but this has been unsuccessful. Recently, I again spoke to technical support who have offered to now send me a new mixing bar, which is part of the recent retro-fit kits. I have additional concerns over the 3 year manufacturer warranty, since during this recent discussion, the techinical service person mentioned that is was highly unlikey that they would ever just replace the composter in the event this mixing issue could not be resolved.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

This is really a change from the old style compost bin. I was ready to buy a big black outdoor composter when I came across this one. I keep it indoors, and have made about 6 batches of compost in the 3-4 months I've had it. It handles all the kitchen scraps, but not the outdoor yard waste. It works really fast and is much easier than collecting scraps, trudging them outside, and then waiting 6 months. The instructions are very good and no assembly is required.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

[...] I want to let other gardeners know that this product "works" - but isn't really an effective year-round solution. It burns electricity, you need to add lots of browns (they supply pellets, then you have to buy them or sawdust), it starts to smell and every 20 minutes it goes "KLUNK ....KLUNK" so don't put it near where you sleep. The stuff transfers between the upper and the lower chamber sort of randomly, and then there is a heater that helps it compost. It doesn't shred or chop, only stirs, so you have to make small pieces, which is okay, but you might as well just use a container-based composter in the garage. Also, you need to add lots of baking soda to keep it from smelling ... by adding heat it's trying to accelerate the process, and I don't think it really works. The concept is great, the reality, not so good, and not for [$]plus shipping.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

The idea is great ... I loved the idea of a small super-efficient year-round in-the-kitchen composter. The reality didn't really work: "browns" must be added a lot, the thing makes noise and gets stuck, it's can smell unless you use lots of baking soda (attention Costo shoppers!), and it generates heat .... it seems that the machine is doing the cooking, rather than the compost cooking itself. The idea is great ... but in reality it doesn't really work, especially for[$]

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

I have gone back to the old fashioned way of composting - backyard. The Mill is very high maintenance as dirt has to be added each time it dumps composted materials. It is very difficult to clean which causes it to smell. It's expensive for what it doesn't do and that's make usuable compost.

Comments about Kitchen Scrap Composter:

I felt guilty tossing carrot peels and such into the trash. However I live in a small space, but I do container garden and have a community garden as well. I needed a composter that could perform quickly and take up little space and this device fit the bill. The diagrams for the instructions are difficult to read and could be broken down to step by step drawings for a spatially challenged person like me. The written instructions are fine and customer service is helpful. One thing is FOR SURE. You HAVE to chop up the scraps to bite size pieces or the machine will jam. It's not a big deal to unjam it but still it can be a pain. Also wood shavings that are used for hamster bedding works fine for the "brown" matter. It's cheap too. I don't live anywhere near a sawmill so sawdust is hard to come by. Don't put shredded office or newspaper in the composter as it will just sit there and do nothing. It doesn't stink by the way and is not unpleasant at all when you lift the lid to add scraps. A little baking soda also helps as does adding "brown" with the "green"