Hi all, I thought I had heard it all when it came to food waste. But Mill Industries, an American climate-tech company working on waste prevention, proved me wrong. They have created a device that “dries, shrinks, and de-stinks your kitchen scraps overnight”. Basically, it’s a kitchen bin that grinds and heat treats unwanted food that you place in it. Once the food is turned into dry food grounds, it can be shipped back to Mill Industries to be converted into an ingredient for chicken feed. The unit can be purchased through a $33/month membership fee, which includes the kitchen bin and shipping boxes.
The bin is a computerized device, so it needs to be plugged in. You then download the Mill app and connect the bin to WIFI. The app will then keep track of how much food is added and start to include tips on how to reduce food waste. When the bin fills up, you schedule a pick-up via the app and the bin goes back to a processing facility to make the animal feed.
Why use a bin like this instead of composting? What are the potential barriers and benefits? In terms of barriers, although it seems easy enough to use, there are more steps involved than regular composting so it may be inconvenient. For people who are less technologically inclined, this might not be the best option. It’s also pricey compared to regular composting, which is free. If you’re at all concerned about gadgets that track your behaviors, this would be less desirable than a regular compost bin. In terms of benefits, according to Mill Industries, by using this product, you can avoid about a half-ton per year of greenhouse gas emissions, which includes the bin’s manufacturing, energy use, and transportation back to the processing facility. The tips it gives you on how to avoid food waste can also help save you money. Perhaps the biggest benefit of all, though, compared to compost is that this bin removes the ‘ick’ factor from composting. By drying out the food, smells and slime are a non-issue. This could be a deciding factor for quite a few people. Overall, it sounds like a kitchen bin like this would be useful for middle to upper-class, tech-literate people who care a lot about not only the climate but also kitchen hygiene. For municipalities in the U.S. that already have a relatively high composting adoption rate, this might be a target market to consider.
For more information on this device, click here.
The bin is a computerized device, so it needs to be plugged in. You then download the Mill app and connect the bin to WIFI. The app will then keep track of how much food is added and start to include tips on how to reduce food waste. When the bin fills up, you schedule a pick-up via the app and the bin goes back to a processing facility to make the animal feed.
Why use a bin like this instead of composting? What are the potential barriers and benefits? In terms of barriers, although it seems easy enough to use, there are more steps involved than regular composting so it may be inconvenient. For people who are less technologically inclined, this might not be the best option. It’s also pricey compared to regular composting, which is free. If you’re at all concerned about gadgets that track your behaviors, this would be less desirable than a regular compost bin. In terms of benefits, according to Mill Industries, by using this product, you can avoid about a half-ton per year of greenhouse gas emissions, which includes the bin’s manufacturing, energy use, and transportation back to the processing facility. The tips it gives you on how to avoid food waste can also help save you money. Perhaps the biggest benefit of all, though, compared to compost is that this bin removes the ‘ick’ factor from composting. By drying out the food, smells and slime are a non-issue. This could be a deciding factor for quite a few people. Overall, it sounds like a kitchen bin like this would be useful for middle to upper-class, tech-literate people who care a lot about not only the climate but also kitchen hygiene. For municipalities in the U.S. that already have a relatively high composting adoption rate, this might be a target market to consider.
For more information on this device, click here.
