You may not know this, but according to the Environmental Protection Agency, yard trimmings and food residuals together equate to roughly 27 percent of U.S. municipal waste. And it’s a shame, really, considering that with a little planning and effort, both are entirely compostable.
I already know what you’re thinking: if you can compost food/yard waste at home, then what harm is it sending them to a garbage heap somewhere, where they’ll just turn into compost anyways? Unfortunately, this isn’t the case, as once they’re mixed with other garbage, their decomposition takes signficantly longer, creating a toxic mix that’s significantly more detrimental to the environment.
In an effort to cut back on the amount of waste my household contributes to landfills, I decided to add an in-home composter to better manage food waste. Living in an apartment, I needed something that could be stored indoors without leaking any odors, small enough to fit into my relatively limited kitchen space and most importantly, one that didn’t take a lot of time and work to use. In the end, I opted for the NatureMill Ultra Automatic Composter – a sleek automatic composter that was everything I was looking for: small enough to fit under a kitchen counter, simple to use, and most importantly, odorless.
My first week with my new NatureMill compost bin, and I’ll be honest: I was little worried that throwing a steady stream of food scraps would eventually result in a horrendous smell that would render my kitchen useless. But overcoming my doubt, I adhered to the instruction of the NatureMill, I kept adding food scraps, and a week later, true to NatureMill’s claims, there was still no smell. In the middle of the second week, I had accumulated enough scraps to complete my first compost transfer (which I’ll explain in a second), and the result was perfect compost that looked like rich dark brown soil. Fast forward a few months, and my NatureMill compost bin is still working perfectly. I’ve completely eliminated the food waste produced by my household, and what may be the greatest benefit, my garbage no longer smells from aging food scraps.
So how exactly does the NatureMill Ultra Automatic Home Composter work? In truth, it’s about as simple as you can get. Designed as a two chamber system, the top chamber is accessible via a raisable lid, and is the chamber where you add your food scraps. Once you’ve done so, the NatureMill takes care of everything – mixing the materials, perfectly oxygenating the scraps and providing just the right amount of heat. It’s the perfect environment for decomposition, so your food breaks down so quickly, it doesn’t have time to develop an odor. You can add scraps as anytime, as often as you want (up to 4 gallons a week), and the NatureMill takes care of the rest.
I know, I know – you’re still worried about the smell. As an added safeguard, the NatureMill comes equipped with a lifetime carbon filter, further eliminating the chance for unpleasant odors while providing virtually maintenance free usage.
As for the second chamber, once the materials have been composted and the top chamber becomes full, you can then transfer the compost to the lower chamber. From there, it can either continue its composting process or be moved to your garden, plants, etc. In total, the lower bin holds about 1.5 gallons worth of compost, which as previously noted, appears as a gorgeously fine mixture of dark brown soil. Once transferred to your garden and potted plants, the nutrients from the compost will eventually seep down to your plants’ roots, providing vital nutrition and nitrogen to your plants, thus making them healthier. The NatureMill is so simple that in truth, I really can’t see any reason why every home doesn’t have one.
Lastly, the design of the NatureMill Ultra Automatic Home Composter is one that bears mention. Featuring a sleek, fingerprint proof silver metallic design, the NatureMill is perfect for kitchens, in that it fits perfectly under many kitchen cabinets (its measurements are 20″ x 12″ x 20″ H). Even on its own, however, the NatureMill looks great, and can easily function as a stand alone unit.
Looking back on my decision to purchase the NatureMill Ultra Automatic Home Composter, I’m exceptionally glad I made the switch from traditional garbage disposal. The NatureMill is so simple to use it’s virtually error-proof, it’s compact, it’s energy-efficient to run (it costs roughly $0.50 a month), it’s odorless and it’s fully automatic. Best of all, it’s great for the environment, and more specifically, your plants. If you’re looking for one of the easiest ways to cut down on waste and improve your garden, you really can’t get better than the NatureMill Ultra Automatic Home Composter.
Pricing for the NatureMill Ultra Automatic Home Composter is $395 on Amazon.com, and you can also learn more about the NatureMill Ultra Automatic Home Composter as well as NatureMill’s full lineup of home composting products at the official NatureMill website.
