We designed the Mill kitchen bin to dry, shrink, and de-stink kitchen scraps as efficiently as possible via long, low-energy cycles. Your energy use will depend on the amount and kind of kitchen scraps you add to it. We estimate the bin will use around 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity per day, averaged over multiple weeks of usage (if you generate around 1.5lbs of kitchen scraps per day). Today, that’s about the same amount of energy per day as an energy-efficient dishwasher, but with software updates, the bin will keep getting better and more efficient over time.
The cost of energy will depend on your local energy rates — you can check your energy bill to see how much you pay per kilowatt-hour (kWh). At $0.20 per kWh (approximately the national average), that’s about $6 per month.
Want to use less energy? Try limiting liquids by doing things like straining wet foods before adding the solids to the bucket.
Big picture: based on our preliminary study, you can avoid about a half-ton of greenhouse gas emissions per year with a Mill Membership. Instead of filling the air with methane, your kitchen scraps can go back into the food system, as we work to turn them into food for chickens. To learn more about the climate impact of an annual Mill Membership, please visit mill.com/LCA.