A few months ago, a member of our team got the chance to get her hands on the new Mill Food Recycler. I have to admit I was green with envy, because I’ve been watching the product since it was announced, and have been an avid follower of the brand, videos, and customer reviews.

What immediately stood out to me about the Mill is its powerful dual grinding mechanism, different than others I’ve tried, which can process a wide range of food waste, including small bones and tough items like avocado pits. It dries and grinds food overnight, significantly reducing its volume by up to 80% every night and takes weeks to fill, meaning less frequent emptying. The smart app integration also provides real-time updates on landfill diversion, energy use, and notifications for when it’s time to empty.

Beyond the kitchen, I also imagine it would be great for those in places like Vermont, where composting is required, and you’re not allowed to throw away food scraps. The bears just looooove that (ask me how I know). Imagine going from having to compost in a barrel or hole outside that Yogi Bear uses as his own personal room service, and then switching to a magical composting trash barrel. A dream!

Another exciting use for the Mill is turning food scraps into nutrient-rich chicken feed. Mill’s recycling process ensures that the output is safe, pathogen-free, and suitable as a supplemental ingredient for backyard chickens. This could be a game-changer for those raising poultry, offering a sustainable way to repurpose food waste into something beneficial for their flock. In February 2023, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) formally approved Mill’s recycled chicken feed ingredient for distribution in Washington State, marking a historic milestone as the first commercially approved chicken feed ingredient derived from recovered household food scraps in the U.S.

Now, as my final piece of information gathered on this investment, I interviewed my colleague Eileen about her thoughts since she received hers in November, and she has been loving it. Keep reading if you need further convincing on why the Mill Food Recycler deserves a spot in your kitchen!

Eileen’s Experience with the Mill Food Recycler

Eileen has had her Mill Food Recycler for a few months now. While the Mill can handle more diverse food waste, Eileen primarily puts in vegetable trimmings, old veggies, flower stems, spent flowers, coffee grounds (with unbleached paper filters), eggshells, and trimmings from her porch plants. A nice combination for a garden or potted plant compost, for sure!

One major benefit, she says, is that it eliminates the need to trudge outside in the snow to a compost pile. This has made winter composting significantly more convenient, and during a challenging winter, what a huge benefit!

The Mill in Action

The Mill Food Recycler is designed with advanced features to make composting simple and efficient. Its powerful dual-grinding mechanism processes a variety of food waste, including small bones and tough items like avocado pits. The aluminum bucket ensures quick drying, and they say it will reduce food volume by up to 80% every night. With a generous 6.5-liter capacity, the Mill can handle approximately 40 pounds of wet food, meaning you won’t need to empty it for weeks.

Eileen confirms that she has her Mill set to run every night at 10 PM and that on average, she says it takes about a month to fill up. “The mill comes with an app that lets you know when you need to empty it,” she explains. “The app also tells you how many pounds you have saved from a landfill and how much energy you have used.”

According to the Mill company, users collectively have diverted over six million pounds of waste from landfills. In just three months, Eileen has saved 69 pounds of food waste from ending up in a landfill.

What Goes In and What Stays Out

Though the Mill can process small bones and minimal amounts of fat, Eileen chooses to use it more as a pre-compost system. She avoids adding any meat, bones, or fat, preferring to keep the output focused on plant-based waste. However, the Mill is versatile and can handle a variety of food scraps, including fruits and vegetables, dairy, rinds, peels, pits, and coffee grounds.

She is also mindful of what she adds, making sure only unbleached coffee filters are included. One of the standout features of the Mill is that it reaches the time and temperature required to reduce pathogens, including salmonella. This means you can skip the rinsing step on items like eggshells, knowing they’ll be pathogen-free before they even reach your compost bin or pile!

I imagine gardeners might also get crafty with what’s in the Mill – creating different compost compositions for their different types of plants, going heavy on eggshells in one batch for calcium-loving plants, and heavier on coffee grounds in another for plants that need nitrogen and prefer acidic soil. Labeling them, trialing them in your garden – it all sounds so fun, doesn’t it?

The Results: No Smell, Easy Storage, and Garden Benefits

One of the standout benefits of the Mill that I asked Eileen about, is whether it smells in her kitchen, and she confirms that it does not. “It actually smells great when I put it in the garden, because of the coffee,” she adds. This is thanks to the Mill’s state-of-the-art odor filtration system, which utilizes activated charcoal filters made from upcycled coconut shells. These filters last up to a year!

The unit itself has a relatively compact footprint—almost 14″ in depth, 16.6″ wide—but stands about 3 feet tall. The Mill is also good-looking and easy to clean, so you can use it in any kitchen decor—and its operation is as quiet as a dishwasher.

During the winter, Eileen sprinkles the processed material directly on top of the snow in her garden. By spring, it will have naturally worked its way into the soil. “I don’t mix it with soil, just sprinkle it,” she says.

The Environmental Impact

Beyond just being a convenient kitchen appliance, the Mill Food Recycler has a broader environmental mission. By converting food waste into nutrient-rich grounds, the Mill helps reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, decreasing methane emissions—a potent greenhouse gas. The processed material can be used as a soil additive or even as a supplement for backyard chickens.

For those who don’t have a garden, Mill offers an optional service to collect the grounds and repurpose them into animal feed, promoting a circular food system. With features like energy-efficient operation, automated cycles, and user-friendly monitoring via the app, it’s clear that the Mill is more than just a composter—it’s a step toward sustainable living.

Final Thoughts on the Mill Food Recycler

The Mill Food Recycler isn’t just about convenience—it’s about redefining how we handle food waste. By making it easy to keep food out of landfills, Mill is paving the way for a more sustainable future, one kitchen at a time. With a seamless user experience and innovative recycling pathways, Mill ensures that food waste is repurposed rather than discarded. Food isn’t trash, and together, we can do better.

Eileen’s experience with the Mill Food Recycler showcases both how easy it is to use, and its ability to integrate seamlessly into a routine. Whether it’s reducing landfill waste, making composting more convenient in the winter, or creating nutrient-rich material for the garden, the Mill has proven to be a valuable addition to her home.

Do you want to get one as much as I do now? Check it out on Mill.com