pigsnfish wrote:Funny...I just looked at the map of where wooters are from who are buying this and they're all from California so far. I just read something where it said that CA is going to MANDATE composting. Something like this composter might be just the thing for people resigned to having to live there.

The law you're thinking of was signed in San Francisco, not for the entire state (http://environmentalism.suite101.com/article.cfm/composting_law_signed_in_california). It's not a big deal. It just means you'll get an extra bin to throw your compostable waste into. It gets picked up by a special truck, and the city handles turning it into compost, then distributing it to farmers. In fact, because of that law, people living in San Francisco have no need for this unless they want to keep the compost for themselves.

There's no law that's going to force residents to maintain a compost pile. That would be a mistake anyway. The people who live in apartments will be creating compost, but have no place to use it.

I don't live anywhere near San Fracisco, so this won't affect me, but it's really not much different than the mandatory recycling laws for paper products. It just means a little more sorting for residents.

We had one of the earlier models of this thing a few years back. It was terrible, smelled bad, had all manner of mechanical and electrical problems (they replaced it twice and sent us parts another time, to Naturemill's credit), just all-around miserable to own. Ours did not smell like damp wool, it was more like damp poop. It didn't hold enough for our household (just me and the wife) so we ended up using the outdoor bin also.

The Naturemill folks insisted we were not putting the proper amount of paper in with the food scraps for it to compost in a non-stinky way, but I think it was an impossible target to hit. Maybe the wood pellets are better.

We kept it in the garage, even in the winter, and it seemed to cook just fine in cold weather as well as warm. What came out looked like several pounds of diarrhea and smelled about the same.

We finally got fed up when it died the last time and threw it away. I don't miss it one bit. If you have a yard, just get a bin and throw your stuff in there. You will be much happier and won't ever have to deal with this horrible machine.

warthog777 wrote:Finally, a place to dispose of my Wifes cooking. Thanks Woot... My taste buds thank you ....

Finally, a place to dispose of my Wife... Thanks Woot... My mistress and boyfriend thank you ...

This w00t offering makes no sense whatsoever. Just put a bin outside and toss the compostable material in there. No electricity used, easy maintenance, no smells in the house. Sheesh.

CardinalGoldstein wrote:This w00t offering makes no sense whatsoever. Just put a bin outside and toss the compostable material in there. No electricity used, easy maintenance, no smells in the house. Sheesh.

Yeah sure that's going to work great. No problems with smells, animals, cold weather, snow, maintenance noooooo no problems at all. Sheesh.

Kizzbot wrote:I have this exact composter and threw it away. It REEKS of garbage and it will overpower your whole house. Run away from this now!

Isn't it kind of ironic that an item like this would end up in a landfill? And I'm sure many of them have!

I just pocket mulch.

DTMRM wrote:You missed one just a few days ago. I didn't get anything.

I know but I want another one so maby I can get a bag or carp

I saw this a while back on another site and I think it was going for more. So this is a decent price..

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.

In other words, I'd have to have this thing for SIX YEARS before it paid for itself. And since the filter only lasts 5 years (and is probably expensive) that means my ROI on this would be basically nil at the time I hit my mid-life crisis.

Woot says the filter is gauranteed for life?

It's PEOPLE...It's PEOPLE.....

New portable Soylent Green in home kits! Just in time for the new healthcare legislation!

naffets77 wrote:Does it smell? I mean it probably doesn't.. do ppl really keep these things inside their houses? Are we so lazy we can't walk out to the compost pile to throw away our trash? Here son.. go put this in our NatureMill Indoor PRO Edition Composter...

(do we get in indoor garden next?)

I think it's meant for those of us who are in apartments, like my sis is i SF and she has a vermicomposter for her walk up apartment. I think this thing looks a little ridiculous, though. I recommend getting a Wiggle Farm.

Yay worms!

srlagarto wrote:The law you're thinking of was signed in San Francisco, not for the entire state (http://environmentalism.suite101.com/article.cfm/composting_law_signed_in_california). It's not a big deal. It just means you'll get an extra bin to throw your compostable waste into. It gets picked up by a special truck, and the city handles turning it into compost, then distributing it to farmers. In fact, because of that law, people living in San Francisco have no need for this unless they want to keep the compost for themselves.

There's no law that's going to force residents to maintain a compost pile. That would be a mistake anyway. The people who live in apartments will be creating compost, but have no place to use it.

I don't live anywhere near San Fracisco, so this won't affect me, but it's really not much different than the mandatory recycling laws for paper products. It just means a little more sorting for residents.

I was just about to respond to that, phew, thanks. Anyhoo, what map was that guy looking at? CA isn't hardly lit up much at all.

BTW, Wiggle Farm, people! It's cheaper and a lot more fun.

misha227 wrote:Pet waste? Really? Because you're not supposed to put that in a regular compost pile, are you?

I have a ton of dog waste, though.

No, waste of meat-eating animals shouldn't really go in your compost.

This is how you compost dog waste:

http://www.plantea.com/dog-waste-compost.htm

I'm pretty new to woot. Is there always this much discussion of "dog waste" and what to do with it? Ha ha.

$250 trash can? Umm... I'm in for none.

Yes, I know it supposedly does some magical compostastic action. But come on, put scraps in a Rubber Maid bin in the backyard and let it decompose naturally.

A better alternative for an indoor no smell composter is a red wiggler system. I have had a couple of different ones. My current one is a repurposed 36 qt cooler. Duct taped something to the top so the lid won't shut all the way and smother the worms. The spigot at the bottom is useful if extra liquid accumulates. Put in some damp shredded paper and a handful of red wigglers. They reduce the mass by 90%. No turning or messing with it required. We dump in coffee grounds every day, tea bags, everything but meat(attracts maggots), citrus and too much onion. No smell at all and it sits right in the kitchen. I keep a rubber glove draped over the side, as human handling hurts worm eggs- plus I prefer not to touch the decomposing food. You can pick up a box of starter worms for $20 or find a friend with an already started bin. Google Worm composting or Vermicomposting, you would be amazed at how easy and cheap it is. I only have to remove stuff from my bin about once a year, but we add stuff every day. We do have chickens who eat some of the tastier scraps.

For those of us that actually raise plants and crops more regularly, I must scoff at today's offering from Woot.

Indoor composting with an appliance that consumes electricity, potentially places odors (and resultant germs/bugs) in your house, and costs more than 5 years worth of bulk compost from a garden supply store - simply put, composting is meant to be done outside, not inside. To make effort and produce an appliance to do this task is like trying to process your own sewage in your house, it isn't practical.

Buy a high quality pitchfork (yes, that's one of the tasks it is meant for - turning compost), use free leaves and grass clippings from your yard to keep the pile activated, turn it regularly with a pitchfork and get free exercise, and start your own "manual" compost pile in your back yard for 1/10th the cost of today's item.

If you live in the city, all I can say is "good luck with that" as composting should be the least of your concerns.
BS

I was going to be inclined to buy today's woot (because today makes 1 year i've been on the site!!!) But, I have a backyard composter, and that works for me, so, pass.

bscoms wrote:For those of us that actually raise plants and crops more regularly, I must scoff at today's offering from Woot.

Indoor composting with an appliance that consumes electricity, potentially places odors (and resultant germs/bugs) in your house, and costs more than 5 years worth of bulk compost from a garden supply store - simply put, composting is meant to be done outside, not inside. To make effort and produce an appliance to do this task is like trying to process your own sewage in your house, it isn't practical.

Buy a high quality pitchfork (yes, that's one of the tasks it is meant for - turning compost), use free leaves and grass clippings from your yard to keep the pile activated, turn it regularly with a pitchfork and get free exercise, and start your own "manual" compost pile in your back yard for 1/10th the cost of today's item.

If you live in the city, all I can say is "good luck with that" as composting should be the least of your concerns.
BS

I know right? It uses electricity!!! That's so crazy! The town where I live in holds a free backyard composting startup class once a year (basically 3 hours of why this is a good idea. what to put in and what not to for those who dunno) and then they give you this rather large backyard composter made of 100% recycled materials and it works great! A much better way to go than this thing.

DeeJay1970 wrote:No, waste of meat-eating animals shouldn't really go in your compost...

Best place is in the flower bed - dig a deep hole in open space and put all the accumulated doggy doo in the hole. Or, if you have woods - keep a hole dug on the woods edge and fill with accumulated doo then throw a layer of grass/leaves and dirt on it, once the hole is filled start another one and just keep digging. I'm amazed at how many people throw the doo in their garbage when they have their own earth to take care of business for them. It's like we want to outsource everything in America.
BS

docflash wrote:can you compost a dead puppy?

(and at first *i* thought it was a computer, too).

and my condolences to the woot copywriter who had this to deal with.

It's easier if you use the Puppy Chipper 2000 first!

Take a greenie chick on a date to a foresting protest, and then dinner at a raw food restaurant...bring her back to your house, and when she sees this composter the deal is done!

yay indoor compost!

The most stupid item ever listed on woot!

Waste of money to me. I live in the country and I burn my trash and give the food scraps to the wildlife around me and the dogs.

i can buy a lot of mulch for $250

That is the sickest think I have ever heard of...

EmpressG wrote:A better alternative for an indoor no smell composter is a red wiggler system. I have had a couple of different ones. My current one is a repurposed 36 qt cooler. Duct taped something to the top so the lid won't shut all the way and smother the worms. The spigot at the bottom is useful if extra liquid accumulates. Put in some damp shredded paper and a handful of red wigglers. They reduce the mass by 90%. No turning or messing with it required. We dump in coffee grounds every day, tea bags, everything but meat(attracts maggots), citrus and too much onion. No smell at all and it sits right in the kitchen. I keep a rubber glove draped over the side, as human handling hurts worm eggs- plus I prefer not to touch the decomposing food. You can pick up a box of starter worms for $20 or find a friend with an already started bin. Google Worm composting or Vermicomposting, you would be amazed at how easy and cheap it is. I only have to remove stuff from my bin about once a year, but we add stuff every day. We do have chickens who eat some of the tastier scraps.

Oh teh bounce!

gtsports wrote:Are you serious? $250? Why would anyone pay anything for this?

Just 1) get an old metal trash can, 2) drill some holes in it, 3) set it in your backyard, 4) fill it with your leftovers, and 5) you'll have worm infested compost galore in short order.

Are YOU serious? Especially as how you are like the 10th person to post this. Do you honestly believe everyone in this country has a back yard?

Very unimpressed! Poor quality. Unit jams all the time. Have had over 4 warranty repairs in less than a year.

I cannot believe that these sold out......

Ahhh! they sold 599.so 1 is left for next Boggy Old Creature.I hope its for me.

gosla wrote:Can this replace my septic tank? What if I take on a vegan lifestyle???

Yes it will, just harder to make it in the hole. And will not support the wieght of your toilet. Tried it...bad deal.

bscoms wrote:Best place is in the flower bed - dig a deep hole in open space and put all the accumulated doggy doo in the hole.
BS

So that doesn't affect the flower bed in a bad way? Change the ph or ... something?

DeeJay1970 wrote:So that doesn't affect the flower bed in a bad way? Change the ph or ... something?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lk1awSIang

I set mine up yesterday, so we'll see how this thing works! Had an old bag of broccoli sitting in the fridge that I never finished, so that had the honors of being the basis for my first batch of compost. That, a banana peel, and some coffee grinds (in addition to the dirt, wood pellets, and baking soda they have you add to get started at first). Says not to add anything else for the first week until it sets up the environment. We'll see how stinky it is when I get home tonight.

Given the price, I am somewhat disappointed as it is not odor free or smelling as advertised.

hope this comes around again