Over the last few years there have been a number of appliances marketed as “Electric, Counter-top Composters”. Lomi , Mill are two familiar brands in addition to Reencle which I am using in my household. Though the availability of household units is relatively new, several companies have been manufacturing commercial scale units with similar function for more than a decade. Some simply dehydrate and disintegrate, while others incorporate microbes that intend to decompose organic material in a digestive process. Reencle and Lomi fall into the 2nd category.
There is spirited debate around how the resulting output should be classified. Some refer to it as compost or digestate, while others will say it is simply dried out food scraps that require further composting. There are several studies you can find that have tested various machines and compared their output to conventional compost. Regardless of what you call it, I think nearly everyone agrees that the resulting material needs further blending and curing before use as a soil amendment.
I am intrigued by this technology from a waste management perspective and believe it creates a great opportunity to increase landfill diversion rates at the residential level by creating consumer convenience through simplified disposal, reduced smell and less frequent emptying. In a commercial setting this approach can lower an organization’s GHG impact, waste management costs by reducing collection frequency, hauling emissions and associated expenses.
The photo below shows a combination of food waste and compostable molded fiber packaging breaking down over 24 hours in a Reencle machine. I am preparing to conduct some controlled tests with the Reencle and a basic dehydrator style machine to see how the outputs compare and experiment with it's various uses, more to come.
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