When it comes to the best smart home tech, you probably don't think about your kitchen bin. But a new business from former Apple engineering vice-president and Nest co-founder Matt Rogers hopes to change that with a smart bin that comes free with a $33 per month subscription fee.
According to Rogers, "The Mill Membership is a simple way to keep food out of landfills, send it back to farms, and make your kitchen smell awesome."
Can your bin really make the world a better place? Mill says it can.
The bin that "shrinks and de-stinks"
According to Mill, the process goes like this: you get your bin, install the smartphone app and connect the bin to your Wi-Fi. You then put your food waste in the bin as normal – if it comes off your cutting board it can go in the Mill bin – and overnight it turns into Food Grounds via a process of charcoal filtering that "shrinks and de-stinks your kitchen scraps". They're rather like the leftovers from a bean-to-cup coffee machine. When the bin is full you empty it into the prepaid box and send it to Mill, where your food scraps will become chicken feed.
According to Mill, that means saving about half a ton of greenhouse gas emissions per household per year, even after you take into account the environmental footprint of making the bins and transporting the food grounds.
Is there a catch? It can't take larger bones, which rules out our Sunday roasts and Monday murders, and you shouldn't use your bin for flowers, houseplants, drugs or anything else that you wouldn't want going into the food cycle. And for the time being it's a US-only product and service. Mill will start shipping its bins in the Spring.
