apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

How much power does the composter use? It seems kind of wasteful to use electricity to compost.

jinx-- look at the specifications on the website.

"5 kwh / month - as much as a typical night light. This costs about $0.50 per month, depending on local rates."

personally, if you need to compost and you have the outdoor space I prefer the old fashioned method. It works just fine. Last thing I want are more needless gadgets added all around the kitchen and house.

Are you sure that baking soda won't affect the ph of the compost in a negative way?

Let me chime in with, "it's big in Japan". I've seen photos of units like these integrated into Japanese kitchens. If you have a garbage disposal, it seems like you would be able to plug this into the other outlet and keep the unit under the sink on a pull-out tray.

I wonder where you'd deposit the compost if you lived in a high-rise? Maybe you could become a urban compost guerrilla. Nourishing plants and trees out on the streets...

As someone without enough outdoor space to properly compost, I'm really excited about this. Could I put it out on my balcony (i.e., is it waterproof?)?

re: "Cound I put it out on my balcony") - from the website:

"Indoor or outdoor use, even in cold weather, rain, or snow."

so... yes.

using this machine would result in less garbage going to the landfill.

An alternative way to composting is to keep a bowl in the back of your fridge and toss any of your produce clippings into it and at the end of the week liquify it in a blender/foodprocessor and pour into a hole outside :) guerilla style.

We have one in our 3rd floor apt and have to admit that it's great! The smell gets to us sometimes, so we're finding that having baking soda and sawdust pellets on hand is essential for cutting down the organic odor.

We're also finding that the banana peels (when not chopped into small bits) and flowers like to bind up the motor and cause jams.

One question though...just completed our first transfer of compost to the finishing tray. It's been there for a week and is ready to be emptied. I'm done for the season with my garden and would like to begin storing the compost. How do you store yours??