Are electric ‘composters’ the solution for food waste? Or a waste of time

The expensive appliances claim to eliminate kitchen food waste by turning it to instant compost. But experts are skeptical

Michelle Cehn, founder of the popular Instagram account @vegan, built her reputation around her love for the planet – but food waste was something that she struggled with. “I’ve been wanting to compost, but I’ve always been really overwhelmed by an outdoor compost pile,” she said in a voiceover of a recent post that showed her picking fresh vegetables from the vine. “And so this year I started composting indoors with the Lomi electric composter.” In the short video, Cehn went on to explain how she simply dropped food scraps into the small electric bin on her countertop, pressed the button, and was left with “nutrient-rich plant food” a few hours later that she could use in her garden.

Lomi, the device Cehn was hyping, is just one of a new cohort of gadgets claiming they can eliminate kitchen food waste that are starting to gain traction, alongside brands like Mill, FoodCycler and Airthereal. Often marketed as electric “composters”, these appliances, which look a little like trash cans, dry and grind food waste into a mixture that some manufacturers claim can be used as a fertilizer and soil amendment, much like compost.