My Mill: An Unpaid, Honest Food Recycler Review from a Millenial Mom
(and yes, I know it’s not a “real” composter — I do not care)
We used to have one of those standard countertop compost bins. You know the type: smelly, fruit-fly-infested by July, and generally something I avoided opening until it was absolutely necessary. I wanted something that didn’t make me gag while trying to do the right thing with food waste.
Enter: the Mill Food Recycler from Mill Industries — a pricey but genuinely life-improving appliance that’s solved the mess, the smell, and the general ick factor of composting in our house.
No, it’s not technically a composter. And no, I don’t care. I didn’t need full-circle soil production in my kitchen — I just wanted something that handled food scraps without making my kitchen smell like a crime scene until I could put it in the green bin. This absolutely does that.
What I like:
It’s basically a sleek, odorless food waste bin that dries and grinds scraps down into tidy little flakes.
No smell (as long as your filter’s seated correctly — more on that below)
Looks nice in the kitchen. A little big and heavy, sure, but worth it.
No fruit flies. That alone makes it a win.
I’ve had it for four months, and it’s still running smoothly on the original filter.
What went wrong (briefly):
At one point, it did start to smell, and I was this close to being mad about it. But I reached out to support, and they were extremely helpful. After some back-and-forth (including sending them photos), we realized I had probably installed the filter upside-down or just hadn’t seated it properly. Fixed that, smell gone, all good since.
The fine print:
It’s a little unclear how much sugar is “too much.” The manual says not to overdo it, but doesn’t say what happens if you do. I didn’t toss a whole leftover birthday cake in, but I wanted to.
I also occasionally toss in dry leaves from houseplants or dead flowers from vases. No real problems so far — not sure if that’s officially allowed, but it’s working.
I started throwing coffee ground pucks in there from my Breville but stopped. I think it’s just too fine and clogs up the grinder. It doesn’t affect function at all, just makes it more difficult to rinse out after dumping in the green bin, so it’s not worth it.
So no, it’s not perfect. But it has removed one of the grossest parts of kitchen life for me, and I have zero regrets.
👉 Here’s my referral link if you’re considering getting one. It gives you $200 off and give me a $100 credit. And yes, I’m using a referral link but this is still just a genuine recommendation. Why not take the free money for both of us?
