R.City and Mill teamed up to make it easy to send your food scraps to local farms in the Phoenix Valley.
Phoenix-area residents can sign up for the R.City x Mill service to receive a Mill Plus — which eliminates the messy work of home food waste diversion by drying and grinding food scraps overnight so they don’t smell or spoil — and access to the R.City pickup service and farm, where the food scraps will be used to cultivate soil and grow fresh produce.
This article covers common questions about the R.City + Mill program. If you don’t find an answer to your question, use the search bar in the top right of this page to search for other Mill Support articles, or reach out to our Support team at support@mill.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!
Am I within the service area to get the R.City + Mill program and pickups?
This map shows the Mill x R.City service area. If you’re outside of this service area and still want a Mill, you can order a bin at www.mill.com.
What is included in the R.City + Mill program?
- Use of the food-recycling Mill and R.City bucket.
- Monthly pickup of your R.City bucket (we will email your date)
- Based on your plan, a Monthly or Quarterly compost or farm box delivery (quarterly farm boxes must be requested from info@recycledcity.com or in your StopSuite account).
- Filters and ongoing warranty for your Mill if your plan is active.
- 30 Day Money Back Guarantee period.
- Dedicated support teams of real people.
The arrival of your Mill & R.City bucket
The Mill will be delivered via FedEx, and R.City will drop off your bucket after the Mill is delivered within 7-10 business days. You will receive an email shortly after your R.City bucket is delivered to create your StopSuite account, add any special instructions (gate codes, location, etc.) for your pickup.
Your scheduled monthly pickup with R.City
Your monthly pickup day will be provided in a dedicated email from R.City the day before their pickup. The scheduled day will be the same every month (for example, every third Thursday of the month). If you are an existing R.City customer, you will be moved to a monthly pickup day as well— these details will be provided via email.
If you have any questions about your bucket delivery or pickup date text 480.269.5149 or email R.City at info@recycledcity.com. You can also go to your R.City StopSuite account to manage your pickups.
Can I add a second R.City bucket, so I have 2 R.City buckets instead of just one?
Yes! This just increases the monthly price by $2 per bucket. Reach out to us at support@mill.com and we’ll make it happen.
The white bin is about the size of a standing trash can. The exact dimensions are:
- Height: 27.2 in
- With lid clearance: 37.5 in
- Width: 16.6 in
- Depth: 13.8 in
What can go in the bin
As a general rule of thumb, if it comes off your cutting board or plate, you can Mill it!
Here are some examples:
- Small bones (like chicken or fish)
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Rinds, peels, pits
- Meat, dairy, eggs
- Coffee grounds
Things that don’t belong in the bin:
- Large bones (like beef, lamb, or pork)
- Hard shells
- Large amounts of liquid, grease, or oil
- Large amounts of sugar, cake, or cookies
- Large amounts of fibrous or starchy material that aren't cut up into smaller pieces beforehand (e.g. corn husks, artichokes)
- Houseplants or flowers
- Drugs or medicine
- Compostable plastics, packaging
- Take-out containers, paper plates
- Moldy meat
- Questionable leftovers (if they're more mold-than-food, it shouldn’t go in)
Things that don’t belong in the Mill or your R.City bucket:
- Large amounts of liquid, grease, or oil
- Pet waste
- Drugs or medicine
For an extensive list of what can and can’t go into the bin, use Mill’s Food Library (Library tab) in the Mill app. The app does not show what can go in your R.City bucket yet, so if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to support@mill.com.
What do I do with the organic material that can’t go in the Mill bin?
Organic material that R.City accepts but Mill does not (like large bones or food-soiled paper) can do directly in your R.City bucket for pickup.
How is the bin different from home composting devices?
Composting is a form of biological digestion that breaks down organic material and takes weeks or months, not hours or days. Be wary of any claims to the contrary. The food-recycling Mill isn’t a composting device. The Food Grounds that come out of the bin are still food, minus the water, bulk, odor, and ick. The Mill is designed to conserve all the potential in your kitchen scraps, not break them down, so they can have a second life.
How often will the bin need to be emptied?
The Mill bin shrinks down your food by 80% so it needs to be emptied very infrequently. For most families, it takes up to a month before the bin needs to be emptied.
What to do with your Food Grounds and how to prepare for pickup day
Your bin should fill up about once a month. You can empty your Food Grounds into the R.City provided bucket that you receive around the same time as your Mill. The R.City bucket can accommodate a couple empties, in case your bin fills up before your pickup day. When your pickup day arrives, you’ll receive an email and/or text message from R.City and you can leave your R.City bucket outside.
Can I keep my Food Grounds?
You’re welcome to keep your Food Grounds and use them for your chickens, or turn them into compost. For any Food Grounds or organic material that you don’t use, R.City will pick it up.
How to order more R.City buckets if yours is filling up sooner than your pickup day
You can order extra R.City buckets for an additional fee. Text 480.269.5149 or email R.City at info@recycledcity.com for more information.
What to do if you forget to put your bucket out on pickup day
Text 480.269.5149 or email R.City at info@recycledcity.com.
Are there drop off sites where I can swap my buckets?
Unfortunately at this time we do not have any drop off sites.
Can I get compost back from R.City?
Yes! You can reach out directly to R.City at info@recycledcity.com to request a compost delivery.
How do I get a Farm Box from R.City?
R.City offers fresh produce delivered directly to your door. You can reach out directly to R.City at info@recycledcity.com to purchase a farm box service plan or select your benefit in your R.City StopSuite account.
Pausing or canceling service temporarily
We are not currently offering temporary pausing or canceling of the service. If you choose to cancel your R.City + Mill service, please do so in your Mill account portal. Our team will be in touch and walk you through the steps to return your Mill and R.City bucket. If you decide to cancel, please contact Mill or R.City within 30 days to schedule the return.
Can I just buy the bin?
You may purchase the bin and R. City pickups separately and directly through R.City. If you subscribe to a $39+ monthly farm box, an R.City bucket and monthly pickups are included with your farm box. You can do so at www.mill.com/rcity.
Moving to a new location within the service area
No problem! Just update your information in the app and contact R.City at info@recycledcity.com so your pickup date can be updated.
Tracking your impact with R.City + Mill
At this time, you will not receive any impact reports, but you can track your impact in the Mill app Impact tab. You will also be eligible to sign up for a Farm Box subscription that allows you to get local, fresh produce grown with the Food Grounds your household generates.
What happens to this service during extreme weather conditions, such as heavy rain or heatwaves
It is business as usual, unless you are notified otherwise directly from R.City. If your pickup day is moved due to extreme weather conditions, and your R.City bucket is full, you can empty your Food Grounds into any temporary container that has a seal / lid.
Discounts or referral programs
We do currently have a referral program available. You can find your Mill + R.City referral code here: https://account.mill.com/refer/rcity. You can also share your referral code directly from the Mill mobile app, via the Referral tab.
Billing
Your monthly payments will be processed by Mill each month. Your first monthly payment will be due the week of your Mill bin delivery. You can update your plan in your Mill account portal.
For existing R.City customers transferring to the R.City + Mill program
You will receive detailed emails with guidance on how to get started, but in case you’re looking for a few more details:
- Once you checkout, your subscription starts and you'll be charged that week for the first month of service, and R.City will come as usual for your next pickup— after that, you will get a new monthly pickup day
- Your first monthly pickup will be during the first 30 days
- R.City will do a bucket swap and pick up shortly after your plan starts
Electricity
The Mill uses about 0.7 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity per day on average. This is equivalent to a high efficiency dishwasher. For more information, see this article.
Long Dry & Grind cycle
It’s common for your bin to take 5-7 hours to completely dry out your Food Grounds. See this article for more information on what can cause long Dry & Grind cycles. If you think that your bin is taking longer than it should, reach out to support@mill.com.
Smell
Your bin should be odorless. If it isn’t, check out this article to help troubleshoot, or reach out to support@mill.com.
How often do I need to replace my carbon filter and how much does it cost?
Carbon filter replacements are currently included for Mill subscriptions. Each refill lasts for 12 months, depending on use, so your kitchen never smells.
Noise
When the Mill is running a Dry & Grind cycle, the fans sound like white noise and are about as loud as a dishwasher (~44 dB). If you put in pits or bones, you might hear a quick, loud snap or clunk. Every now and then it might make a funny creak or groan as it mixes. The bin’s fans run at a super low-energy speed throughout the day to help maintain a negative air pressure so that the bin stays smelling fresh.
Kid & Pet safety
See this article to learn about how to set up the Always locked setting.
Bin not working
You can search our support articles for troubleshooting support here. Or, reach out to support@mill.com and our amazing Support team will help you resolve whatever issue you’re experiencing.
Providing feedback
Mill sends periodic surveys, and would love for you to provide feedback there! You can also email Mill with feedback at support@mill.com.