FC-30 - Compact Home Food Processor and Recycler - Kitchen Countertop Compost Alternative - Electric Food Waste Disposer - Odorless Food Waste Bin - 2.5L Bucket Capacity

I tried worm composting years ago. I applaud anyone who is worm composting, but it wasn't for me. Ditto composting barrels. But I wanted to compost, for my planet and for my garden. So when an ad popped up in my Facebook feed for the Food Cycler, I was interested. The first few times I used it, it didn't work, at all. So I contacted Food Cycler's customer service and received a reply within an hour. The rep was very concerned with figuring out what the problem with my machine was, and after asking me some questions about my experience using it, offered to replace it immediately. As I was packing the unit back up for return, I noticed a small metal part still in the box that I must have overlooked while unpacking. It was obvious where the part belonged -- in the base, where the bucket attached, so after dropping it in, I tried again. This time, I got beautiful compost in a few hours. I won't know for awhile whether the compost is helping my garden flourish, but I have the immediate pay off of reducing my food waste to zero (it even took my chicken bones). I don't write many reviews, but felt the need to here. This is not an inexpensive product, so most people will want to research reviews before buying, as I did. This product deserved five stars from me, because it does what it promises, it comes with excellent customer service backing, and it helps me do a small part in making our planet a healthier place. Apologies to any worms who may have been offended by my review.

The first time I used this it performed as expected. The second time it could not complete the cycle because it developed a serious jam. There were no bones nor rigid waste- everything was soft like bell peppers and tomatoes. The jam was created when the food dried out and clumped under a small tunnel used to grind the waste. The compressed, dried waste was hard as a rock and seemed to be almost glued to the grinding bucket- baked on if you will, and almost impossible to remove from under the tunnel. You can't remove the 'tunnel roof' to dislodge a jam, so it took hours of soaking and trying to pick away from the side. It happened with the second use so it is unlikely to be a fluke.Also, the documentation brags that it consumes ONLY 2 kilowatt hours per month on standby. That is a lot of juice for standby. It takes hours to process each batch, so I can only imagine how many kilowatt hours it burns during normal use. Also, check out the dimensions- it will eat up a lot of real estate on your counter.On the nitpicky side, they could add to the instruction booklet a line or two about how it works. If you press the on button once it appears to simply circulate air through the carbon filters, presumably to keep odors from accumulating before you process the scraps. You have to push it again to get it to start the mulch-creating cycle.

Bought this in April 2019 and have used it daily it more since with virtually no issues. It reminds you not to send loads of bread through,or really soupy stuff, but if I ignore that and send lots of moldy rolls, it does tend to stick the grinder, or if I send really wet things that have pooled a bit of liquid in the bottom of my compost bin and over fill the food cycler bucket then sometimes it won't dry fully and I'll need to run it a second time. There is a fill line and I routinely overfill it, my bad I know but usually it turns out just fine. I knew from reading reviews that this was more of a food grinder/dehydrator, but living in the northeast US it lets me compost year round, we just fill a plastic bin with the food cycler results until spring and then use it in the holes before we plop the seedlings in the ground with great results. It significantly reduces our trash, really helps with the trash smell (since there is little to no food in there to get stinky now) and allows us to compost way more efficiently since even when we put the food cycler debris into the compost bin outside it breaks down super fast. It can be stinky when I run it, but honestly I don't really change the filters we just run it overnight, it takes 8-12 hours, and that just depends on what I'm running. Sometimes it smells good (apple scraps and chicken bones smell quite delicious!) But probably not if they sit for a day or so before you run them. Overall I absolutely love this thing and it's held up to my not super kind use of it.

The good: this takes all sorts of food matter minus the super hard bits like bones and pits and nut shells. dries it out, grinds it up, makes it fairly useable for plants.The bad: the bucket really doesn't hold that much; healthy eaters will find themselves running it at least once a day--it goes pretty much non-stop in my house--with the excess going into the charcoal filtered bucket on the counter.The ugly: this is not compost, it is dried food matter--do not put it directly on your houseplants, it will mold and bring bugs. However, if you have a garden, it is great as mulch--just remember to not let it touch the plant stems--or as a mix in between plantings. I store it in a wheelbarrow and mix it into the garden soil after harvesting and before replanting.....after 6 months the machine stopped working. took about a week before customer service responded; and after a week or two of back and forth troubleshooting, they mailed me a new bucket free of charge...customer service is friendly, just not exceptionally speedy....filters are pricey and I go through them rather quickly as the machine runs at least once per day, frequently twice or more to keep up with all the organic matter waste (coffee grounds, veggie bits, egg shells, etc--not actual food, though there is occassionally some of that too when things get lost in the fridge).Not sure if I like this more or less than the NatureMill it replaced (7 years of lovely service before it finally passed on); it is different, but functional.