Home Composter Machines – Everything You Need to Know

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In 2018-2019, the 2020 Australian National Waste Report reported 14.3 million tonnes of core organic wastes (including food organics) was generated from Australian households. An estimated 6.87 million tonnes of this was deposited to landfills. Is there a solution on the horizon with home composter machines for the kitchen? 

We find out with an in-depth look into this new technology and the new Lomi by Pela Earth. 

What happens to organic waste in landfill?

Food waste in landfill doesn’t degrade – as quickly as you might think. Foods can remain in a preserved-like state under large volumes of other waste, creating undesirable environmental conditions that would otherwise encourage the decomposition of organic waste in nature.

Image source: https://www.livetribe.com/blog/australia-has-a-food-wastage-problem/

Heavy waste, suffocating air spaces and cold conditions make organic waste decomposition a little different in landfills than it does in a composting environment. You’re likely to end up with “mummified” food that is slow to decompose, smells awful and releases greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere. Approximately 13 million tonnes of carbon dioxide is generated as a result of organic waste going to landfills. 

Composting technology in the 21st century

Composting has been around for aeons – like literally. It is an integral part of the degradation process in nature and started way before we coined the term composting. The earliest known reference to composting dates back to approximately 2300 B.C.

The scientific basis for modern composting is thanks to the contributing work of Sir Albert Howard in the early 1900s. The Indore Composting System was first developed by Sir Albert and consisted of layering high carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N) material, such as leaf plants, with low C:N material like animal manure. This created a compost heap resulting in a 3:1 ratio. Applications for composting during the 20th century were used initially to improve crop production.

Fast forward to the 21st century, whilst composting was, and still is, a popular domestic choice for gardeners with a green thumb, it is now among the more favoured methods of diverting waste from landfills. Additional improvements to the Indore Composting System led to the more contemporary Rotary Drum Composting System we see today in many households. 

With this system, nutrient-rich compost can take anywhere from 3 weeks to an entire year. But let’s be honest, not every household can spare the room, convenience or time to generate good quality compost. 

Home composter machines

This is where advanced technology and modern agriculture principles have developed a world-first in composting. Partially combining a heat source and the powerful arms of a blender, ideal composting conditions are created in the machine to rapidly speed up the composting process. 

Depending on various models available on the market, some automated kitchen composters claim to produce ready-to-use compost in as little as 6 hours. If you remember, this is a far cry from traditional compost methods that can take up to a year. 

How long does it take for kitchen waste to decompose?

Using an automated kitchen composter can transform organic kitchen waste into home compost in as little as 3-5 hours. Contributing factors that affect the quality of home compost include:

  • Heat
  • Moisture content
  • Oxygen concentration
  • Microbial activity (optional addition)

Once you control these factors, you can more or less control how long it takes to create home compost – this is essentially how home composter machines work. Lomi is a perfect example of how a machine is able to take advantage of this process and therefore accelerate the composting process to ultimately reduce the volume of household organic waste and transform this into a reusable by-product. 

Why choose a Home Composter?

Create less waste.

If you could reduce the volume of waste that ends up in your rubbish bin, and ultimately landfill, wouldn’t you want to? By creating compost from your kitchen organic waste, Lomi automatically reduces your waste footprint by 50% and your waste volume by 80%. 

No smells. less mess.

Traditional rotary drum composting systems require you to build up organic waste over a few weeks. Even by aerating the mixture by rotation, smells from the natural decomposition process can be quite unpleasant for weeks until the compost is formed. Home composters take care of this by capturing any odours using a carbon filter. 

With a handy 2 litre capacity storage bucket, only small amounts of compost is produced at a time to avoid less mess in your kitchen space.  

The Freedom to choose.

We all know that composting takes time which can also affect the quality of compost that is produced. Thanks to advanced technology, you are now free to choose how long the composting process is without compromising its quality. 

How does Home Composters work?

Similar to other home composter machines on the market, technology utilises the principles of traditional composting methods to combine grinding, heat and moisture in a controlled environment. 

Controlling the level of aeration, temperature and humidity, determines how long each cycle takes. This design method accelerates the composting process and breaks down organic or compostable matter into nutrient-rich dirt. 

Do Home Composters have any odours?

Most home composters use activated carbon filters to absorb any lingering odours and purifies the surrounding air. 

What can you put in a Home Composter?

Most organic kitchen food scraps can go in:

  • Fruit and vegetable scraps
  • Food leftovers, plate scrapings
  • Meat scraps 
  • Soft bones e.g. fish
  • Soft shells and shellfish e.g. egg shells and prawns
  • Dry grains (liquids must be separated and removed) e.g. oatmeal, rice, pasta, pancakes
  • Paper coffee filters, coffee grounds
  • Loose leaf tea and tea bag leaves 
  • Rinds (cut into smaller pieces) e.g. watermelon, melons
  • Peels e.g. oranges, mandarins, bananas
  • Hommus
  • Eggs
  • Houseplants, plants, flowers
  • Garden trimmings (leaves, prunings, weeds)
  • Shredded/cut up cardboard
  • Paper items (napkins, paper towel, tissue paper, shredded brown/lunch bags)
  • Compostable paper plates, bowls, cups, sandwich bags

What you shouldn't put in a Home Composter

Whilst there are plenty of organic foods you can put in a home composter, there are some types of food that you should never put in:

  • Hard bones e.g. chicken, beef, pork and lamb
  • Cooking oils, grease and very greasy foods
  • Fruit pits e.g. avocados peaches, apricots, nectarines, mango
  • Soaps, shampoo and conditioner bars
  • Soft plastics and aluminium lined food bags e.g. chips, biscuits, pet food
  • Soiled diapers, baby wipes
  • Cigarettes
  • Metal, plastic (hard and soft), glass
  • Aluminium foil
  • Fresh produce netting and tags
  • Styrofoam
  • Pet waste
  • Alcohol
  • Walnut shells

Why can't I put walnut shells in a Home Composter?

Interesting fact: Walnut shells contain a chemical called juglone that is toxic to plants by inhibiting the growth of certain plant species. 

Why can't I put all sorts of food in Home Composter, it's all the same right?

Whilst the technology was designed to handle a diverse range of compostable items including most kitchen food scraps, foods containing too much moisture or fat content can create undesirable environmental conditions in a home composter. 

This can result in a “mushy” and wet product, far from the dry “mulchy” looking compost that home composters promise. The sticky mess can also stick to the blades, making the machine difficult to clean. 

Following on from Sir Albert’s Composting System, the perfect compost ratio consists of a 3:1 ratio of brown to green waste. This means following the lists of what you can and cannot put in to create well-balanced compost. 

Browns

High carbon material includes:

  • Leaves
  • Paper
  • Bioplastics
  • Packing items

Greens

Household kitchen waste scraps high in nitrogen include:

  • Fruit
  • Vegetables
  • Plant trimmings
  • Eggshells
  • Coffee/tea

Yes, you can put meat in a Home Composter to compost. Thanks to modern technology, composting meat at home is made possible.

Whilst meat is an organic material and will decompose over time, meat in traditional composting methods can cause unpleasant odours, attract pests and generally take an extremely long time to break down.

Simply put, a traditional compost heap harbours unfavourable environmental conditions for meat to efficiently decompose. 

Unlike, traditional methods, home composters use high heat technology and fragmentation to process meat waste before it has a chance to rot. This ends up as quality dehydrated compost that is rich in nutrients for the soil. 

Please note that this is not a sponsored review and I do not receive any financial reward nor have an affiliate for this post. All products in this review have been purchased and fully paid for. This is an unbiased and honest review of all products mentioned and not influenced by any paid advertising or sponsorship. 

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