Composting Robot Wants Your Kitchen Scraps (VIDEO)

One of the scariest parts of really greening a home can be starting to compost. After all these years of doing things the way we've done them, it seems so counterintuitive to keep decomposing scraps of food at home -- sometimes even inside!

Plus, there's the smell, right? Well, according to MNN, we can once again put our faith in a robot -- a composting robot -- to do the dirty work for us. Maybe it's the least green way to compost, because it uses energy, but maybe it's a start!

It also has a carbon-filter which takes out the smell, though it is hard to imagine a bunch of leftover Chinese smelling good after a few weeks of fermentation. Nevertheless, the Nature Mill seems to be a major advancement for those wanting to turn kitchen garbage into garden nutrients.

WATCH:

Comments

[wuffingtonwag]

How about trying a 'Pig Bowl' ? Its obviously not for everyone, but in the right environment , Pigs are the best way to recycle food scraps ! Jill Anderson wrote an interesting article http://wuffingtonwag.com/articles/guest-wags/wheres-your-pig-bowl/ on just that...... "we keep what is now referred to as 'The Pig Bowl' on our kitchen counter at all times. Banana peels, the stale remains of a box of crackers, the lettuce that is just starting to look wilty… all of it goes directly into the pig bowl. Other than egg shells, fatty foods and a few other non-edible items that we compost, we have no food waste. The pigs take care of it all. This is not only great for the environment, but it cuts down on the costs of feed as well!" The craze for Pot Belly Pigs means there are always plenty of them in need of re-homing. Here is a list of rescue centers you can adopt one from http://www.pigs4ever.com/links.htm

[mzrecycle]

For a decade and a half I've been keeping a container of my kitchen scraps in the fridge, or freezer until I have enough to make a walk to the compost pile worth it. Depending on which (fridge, freezer) had more space at the time, that's where it goes. No smell, no fruit flies in the summer and NO additional expensive gizmo to buy. Going green means simple and easy, not manufacture one more kitchen appliance that everyone just HAS to buy. Come on!!

[EndangeredJackalope]

I read on Amazon that these are junk

[jerrypl]

The cheapest way to compost your food wastes is to dig a hole in your backyard and fill it with your waste, and layer it with the soil you dug out. Keep doing the layering until the hole is filled, then begin another one. Another way is to get a big pile of wood chips and make holes in it and pour your food waste right into those holes, and then cover it back up with wood chips. After a year of so, you can spread the wood chips around your plants, or just leave the pile in the corner of your backyard. You can get free woodchips from a tree trimmer, who might be so happy to dump part or all of his load on your property.

In the kitchen, keep a paint bucket with a lid close by the sink. Place an inch of wood chips in the bottom and then begin to fill up with food scraps. To keep the smell to zero, use lime. I keep another paint bucket in the kitchen and fill it with powdered lime. I then sprinkle and cover the food scraps with the lime every few days. This keep the smell away and food flies from from breeding.

http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com

[Lachlan Prescott]

That's one filthy backyard you got there

[gracie99]

I do the same sort of stuff. The worms and other soil denizens that break down food move in really quickly in such situations and keep things from getting gross (as long as the amount of scrap doesn't overwhelm the ecosystem, of course).

Trench composting is one variation: Dig a long, shallow trench in garden, add kitchen scraps to one end and toss a bit of dirt on it. Just keep going down the trench, filling it in.

The other technique is sometimes called sheet composting.

[mzrecycle]

The lime would not work for those with high alkaline soils. It's SO much easier to keep a container in the fridge or freezer, then put in compost pile every few days. I don't want to have something like your paint can next to the sink.

[realgreengirl]

Under the Counter worms is another non-smelling option. They really work!

[bdaved]

This seems like a bad time to be hawking some expensive product so people can spend a lot of money on something they can basically do for free. Have they heard about how the economy's doing?

[frantaylor]

What is so scary about dumping your waste food into a bin?

I have no problem stepping outside for a few moments to empty the day's waste, and it gets REALLY cold here in the winter.

What is with the fancy gear?

[Lachlan Prescott]

Better yet, flush them down the toilet

[berryessence]

COSTCO SALES IT FOR $227

[JnrNorman]

composting isnt scary.
Put it in a turnable drum.
Add uric acid regularly and it composts better and has more fertilizer power.

[Bitsko]

Yep. I know quite a few people who do that. No muss, no fuss.

[StanlyManly]

This is what buying into the "green" mentality gets you. You pay more, use more energy, cause more "pollution" due to the manufacture of the robot, and in the end, all you are left with a gnawing feeling that you just got bamboozled.

Welcome to reality folks. This isn't about saving the world. This is about taking even more money from the consumer.

[elcerritan]

Ditto. Another gimmicky gadget. Just make a small worm bin. Here's how: http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm

[curiousasheck]

Another gimmick. I'll pass.

[sledmouth]

This thing is lame; a carbon filtered kitchen scrap pale and outdoor composting doesn't use any power and probably costs less than $10 - and with the benefit of worm castings.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't composting release gas whether inside your kitchen, in your yard, or a buried in a landfill?

[ThomasMc]

You don't need a silly carbon filter, just put pieces of cardboard (from toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, paper egg crates, etc) in the bottom of your kitchen compost collector. They are very high in carbon, to prevent any smell (absorbing ammonia), while at the same time soaking up liquids from the scraps as they begin to decompose. And then you don't have to add carbonaceous materials to your compost pile, it's already in there.

[barkingcat]

The NatureMill composter is a nice product in concept, but in actuality, a number of bugs probably still need to be addressed. I bought one last year -- it was a bit pricey ($400 with extended warranty) but I live in a cold climate and thought it would be great to compost year-round, instead of just in the warmer months.

Unfortunately, my NatureMill composter kept breaking down -- faulty electronics each time. Finally two months after purchase with three circuit board replacements and still no functioning composter, I gave up and solicited (and got) a refund.

I just went back to regular, outdoor composting.

Oh -- here's irony for you: when the composter bites the dust, like mine did, it is NOT recyclable.