Composting should be cheap and easy. It's not complicated and it doesn't take high tech gadgets, electricity, moving parts, or activated carbon filters.

To pay $250 for an indoor composter seems ludicrous to me.

Want to be green? Don't support businesses that manufacture electric gadgets (where is this made? Shipped from?), make your own bin out of recycled materials and put it outside where it belongs.

Want to save money? Don't bother, buy fertilizer at the store, it's cheaper than this.

Finally, a place to dispose of my Wifes cooking. Thanks Woot... My taste buds thank you ....

This does not work very well on puppies. It is however excellent for composting cats as well as the occasional goldfish.

Greshmahg wrote:Well I just looked at the web site for my local greenhouse. It costs 10 dollars for a bag of compost that would do me for approximately 3 months. So 40 dollars a year to just buy someone else's compost...

Huh, I thought the point of composting was to reduce the amount of trash we produce so that we don't all live on a giant landfill one day. I forgot it's all about the ducats. I feel silly now.

[quote postid="3362282" user="apbui8"]It's ironic that, in efforts to go green, we must use a machine that was:

a) It's made mostly from recycled materials
b) reduces the energy needed to haul food waste to a dump
c) will consume cleaner energy (and less of it) than is produced by the truck that comes to haul it away

What happened to crapping in the backyard and smashing it with your brother's baseball bat?

Nothing happened to that. Am I the only still doing it?

apbui8 wrote:It's ironic that, in efforts to go green, we must use a machine that was:

a) manufactured in some factory which no doubt emitted some sort of byproduct into the ecosystem around it
b) took energy to produce
c) will consume energy on a daily basis

What happened to crapping in the backyard and smashing it with your brother's baseball bat?

I'm no hippie (NUKE THE WHALES!), but this makes no sense to me.

Naw man you sound like a hippie to me. Please everyone lets Mitchell about every possible component of life! Listen here ya damn hippies, in your mad dash to reduce energy use you're becoming the ultimate Ludites. Lets just all curl into a fetal ball so the damn ball of dirt we live on never changes! Tools.

prateeko wrote:Is there anyway to modify this so it can fit onto the back of a Delorean? I'm really close to finishing up a 'project' of mine.

Oh, and you guys wouldn't happen to know anyone with a spare flux capacitor lying around would you? Some Libyans ran off with mine

I saw one on ebay

Interesting read from last year that mentions this product. I wonder what changed Woot's mind on the "ick" factor?

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-woot_31bus.ART0.State.Edition1.4dec701.html

BobDaTemp wrote:Naw man you sound like a hippie to me. Please everyone lets Mitchell about every possible component of life! Listen here ya damn hippies, in your mad dash to reduce energy use you're becoming the ultimate Ludites. Lets just all curl into a fetal ball so the damn ball of dirt we live on never changes! Tools.

i thought hippies lived in the 60s and died out in 69?

ASLLing wrote:
b) reduces the energy needed to haul food waste to a dump

No it doesn't See my post on Page 2 regarding this.

WOW - I can't believe this isn't sold out yet!

I got one at walmart for $4.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=11014768

The key to keeping it from smelling is to cover food stuff with a layer of carbon stuff like leaves.

goody444 wrote:I wonder how truly "green" a product like this is. You're using electricity to do speed a process that nature does on its own. In essence, this product is worse for the environment than simply making an outdoor compost pile. However - it might make you feel better about your contributions to keeping our world green...you dang hippies.

Ok, so for this comment and a few of the other naysayers that are stating an outdoor or tub compost works just as well, that just isn't true.

I have been quite happy with my NatureMill, and I bought it for the things it does over a regular pile. Primarily it composts a wider range of items safely. Inside many municipal areas, it is quite unsafe and potentially illegal to compost things like egg shells and raw meat scraps because of the risk of bacteria. An outdoor pile does not generate the amount of necessary heat to kill these bugs. The NatureMill does.

For those complaining about the power draw...it takes only as much as any other small appliance in the house.

Finally, as for the smell, as others have said if you mix the brown and green items correctly it shouldnt smell too much at all.

Johnnyabe wrote:Saw one of these on the Wa$ted TV show from the green channel.

After using it for a few days, the home owner finally had to take it outside because it stunk so bad.

Compost smells??

Generally, Only if you put stuff in that you are told not too like meat scraps. Same rule applies to the outside composters.

yaakovkl wrote:Can I use this to compost my c*ap?

You beat me and a million other wooters who were wondering the exact same thing. I'd sure love to throw my 3 DVDs and Christmas stocking in there! Heck, toss in the Woot box while were at it.

debren27 wrote:I have one of these and love it! I got one for my parents and my best friend too and they really like them.

I do what I can for the environment (recycling Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!, no plastic bags, etc.) and since I got this thing it kills me to be somewhere and throw away any food scraps. I have it primarily so I don't throw anything into a landfill. ("Isn't that the same, it'll decompose?" No, big difference between aerobic and anaerobic decomposition.)

I live in a townhouse with no yard (just balconies) so it's my best option for composting. It's weatherproof so I could put it on the balcony, but it's more convenient inside.

I keep it right in my kitchen. There's almost no odor, and usually just an earthy smell when I open it. EXCEPT once in a while, yes, it can have a smell. Especially when you're first establishing the culture (by adding some topsoil) or when you add too much wet stuff. You figure it out, and it's actually a fun little game. I threw a half pound of yellowtail into the composter a few days ago and the trashcan that has the wrapper smells way worse than the composter.

The included baking soda isn't for odor, it's to keep the compost alkaline, which is required for proper breakdown.

Tip for anyone who gets one -- Feline Pine cat litter are the perfect sawdust pellets if you can't find them at a lumberyard or anywhere else.

D

Good job, but even though the instructions say you can put meat, chicken, fish, fish bones, and shrimp tails in this, it is a bad idea. Meat will smell as it decomposes.

NoRoadtrippin wrote: It is quite unsafe and potentially illegal to compost things like egg shells

Okay I'll give you the meat scraps, but there is zero danger with composting egg shells. Zero. They actually decompose rather quickly and are probably the best thing you can throw in your composter. I am a firm believer that the paranoia over bacteria only makes our bodies more susceptible to getting sick from bacteria. It's also one heck of a marketing tool. Don't buy into it.

TeeTee0 wrote:I really waited up for a composter. With this headache that I have I could have been sleeping a long time ago instead of wating for a $250 composter. Ugh

dude, no sympathies here, you waited up with a headache for woot? You need to start a group.

adyb1975 wrote:depends on the number of puppies... LOL

LOL I hope your not 50 and trying to sound like 20 LOL

Soo...if you don't have a yard in which to place a compost pile, what exactly do you need loads of compost for?

NoRoadtrippin wrote:Ok, so for this comment and a few of the other naysayers that are stating an outdoor or tub compost works just as well, that just isn't true.

I have been quite happy with my NatureMill, and I bought it for the things it does over a regular pile. Primarily it composts a wider range of items safely. Inside many municipal areas, it is quite unsafe and potentially illegal to compost things like egg shells and raw meat scraps because of the risk of bacteria. An outdoor pile does not generate the amount of necessary heat to kill these bugs. The NatureMill does.

For those complaining about the power draw...it takes only as much as any other small appliance in the house.

Finally, as for the smell, as others have said if you mix the brown and green items correctly it shouldnt smell too much at all.

Basic rule of gardening is never throw meat scraps in the compost pile. Yes the instructions say meat, chicken, fish, fish bones, shrimp tails. etc. But a bad idea.

Finally, I can have a landfill in my house for just 249.99 + shipping

ok, is states Handles pet waste, kitty litter, and cage beddings. can you really put that stuff in there? Is this a good deal?

What a woot-waste. Why would anyone buy this chinese made, Yangtzee river polluting pile of poly-razmataz plastic junk.

If you live in a home, throw it in a hole. If you live in an apartment, throw it out your window, in the direction of your neighbor. Then, he'll clean up the mess and your problem is solved.

I modified mine with a toilet seat & now $ave on water bills from flushing the toilet. (*_*)

I have a system where a truck comes every Wed. and Sat. to take my compost out of my big can in the garage away to some unknown place. I think I pay $5.00 per month for this service.

How well will it handle my grass clippings that filled up an entire 55 gallon trash can? I think this sounds like an excellent product cause I know how much bio-degradable things my entire family goes through each month owning a pet store and a green house. We are all avid gardeners and I know nobody really uses our own compose even though we should. I would love to own one or 3 but the price is a tad too steep for me right now.... darn.

Its too bad its such a small product now that work wants to reduce our trash compactor intake by 98%. Freaking morons. So now they want to put a compost out back with absolutely no knowledge of how they work.
So we are going to throw all our bio garbage in a pile out back of a Wallys super center and think its not gonna smell.

What irony! I just bought and set up a composter two days ago. *sigh*

However, I would never have bought today's woot because this one constantly uses electricity and doesn't seem to aerate as well as other, much cheaper products.

xxclixxx wrote:My town has a compost at the dump/recycling center. If you live here you can drop off grass clippings and leaves free, and pick up compost free.

I found that out after buying a composter of course.. But one of those cheaper plastic things you have to mix yourself (not fun).

Just be careful where you use the town mulch/compost. When it sounds like a great idea, most of that will not have "cooked" long enough to kill weed seeds and other things you really don't want. Commercial compost piles "cook" in the middle over 165 degrees.

Is this contraption for food waste only or can I throw in a dead body to compose as well?

You gotta be kidding me. And $250?!! Put it in a woot-off when it's time for everyone to go to lunch. You'll have plenty of time.

inglekott wrote:carbo... as a serious question, do you happen to know where one can acquire a 55 gallon barrel (for $8 or even free)?

Thanks.

Craigslist in my area.

TheGreenHornetVsKato wrote:Is this contraption for food waste only or can I throw in a dead body to compose as well?

HA! That's just what I was thinking--wonder how fast it'll "dissappear" that dead hooker in my attic...

Just kidding.

LastApeMan wrote:I got 6 of them free from a farmer - he had a load of them.

I guess they get fertalizer in them or something along those lines.

I asked him for them and the next time he got some he called and I came to get them. I do not know what these had in them but they say food grade ona sticker so it wasn't too aweful.

you should know what they had in them. Off a farm more likely to be herb or insecticide. Wash them really good.

prateeko wrote:Other than if you live in a place without a yard, what's the benefit of an indoor composter as opposed the traditional setup where you have a bin (or a small setup) outside?

Well, some of us live in climates (e.g., MN) which get too friggin' cold for a few months each year for the bugs to digest compost.

mkowens wrote:How long do the wood pellets last, and how do you replace them (i.e. can you buy them easily/cheaply)?

The wood pellets are cheap and they last a long time. When you need more, you can buy them from Nature Mill or just use 'wood pellet' style kitty litter (such as Naturals Pine Cat Litter). It's pretty much identical to the wood pellets you can purchase from the manufacturer. Folks with cats already know that pine pellets reduce litter box odors tremendously -- they serve a similar purpose in the composter.

We've been using our Nature Mill for several months -- when the lid is closed, there is absolutely no smell. When I open the lid to add more veggie scraps or coffee grounds, it smells kinda earthy -- like fresh potting soil.

We had one of these and had to return it. It kept jamming and had such a small capacity that we had to continue outdoor composting as well. We are a family of 2, so keep that in mind. If you have a large family and eat a lot of vegetables, you will need 3 or 4 of these things. You also have to be very careful of what you put in them or they will jam. They also make a good bit of noise. Good idea, just not ready for prime time yet.

BobDaTemp wrote:Naw man you sound like a hippie to me. Please everyone lets Mitchell about every possible component of life! Listen here ya damn hippies, in your mad dash to reduce energy use you're becoming the ultimate Ludites. Lets just all curl into a fetal ball so the damn ball of dirt we live on never changes! Tools.

First of all, you dolt, it's LUDDITE. Secondly, your application of that term to the current state of affairs clearly presents your sheer idiocy when it comes to understanding the matter. Please conserve your limited brain energy and only respond to deals that relate to USB Rocket Launchers and such. Dolt.

in for one. gonna fill it with compost i bought at home depot...and maybe some puppies.

120 pounds of waste a month. By my math that will take two months and four days before I can dispose of her. Package this with a tarp or a bathtub and I'll think about it.