I do not like composting.
I realize this is practically heretical, since I live near Portland, Oregon, where environmental awareness reigns supreme, but I just don’t want a bin of slimy, rotting kitchen scraps sitting on my countertop. They attract fruit flies and make my house smell like federal prison pruno – especially in the summer heat.
Instead, my family of three relies on in-sink garbage disposal, which isn’t great. Our septic tank repairman is adamantly against it, and garbage disposal isn’t a good idea for those without a septic tank either, as the waste ends up in the waterways. Throwing food scraps in the kitchen trash ultimately leads to the local landfill, where uneaten food makes up 24 percent of municipal solid waste. As it decomposes, it releases dangerous methane gas.
To combat this, many cities have their own composting programs. My rural suburb doesn’t, so I have to choose between a normal-smelling kitchen and actively contributing to global warming. That’s why I was particularly interested in the Mill, an odorless, fully automated food recycling bin dreamed up by Matt Rogers, a former Apple engineer and co-founder of smart thermostat pioneer Nest.
My family, who cook a lot at home, tried the grinder for six weeks. We hooked it up to a power meter to check its performance and consumption, and fed it as many different food scraps as we could (including sauces, hundreds of eggshells, and a particularly annoying amount of melon rinds) to see if this particularly expensive container is worth adding to your household.
From the ground up
There’s no denying that the grinder has a significant footprint at 50 pounds, about 27 inches tall, and 16 inches wide. Even in my fairly spacious kitchen, it was a challenge to find a place for the grinder to sit where it was both accessible and out of the way—and within a few feet of an electrical outlet. For those with limited counter space, the fact that the grinder sits on the floor can give it an advantage over countertop competitors like the Lomi.
Photo: Kat Merck
