Earth Machine Composter

Pros: Helps promote an environmentally friendly lifestyle, very EASY to use
Cons: Lid collects some water

Being that I went to school for an environmental discipline, I learned a great deal about living an environmentally friendly lifestyle. One of the things that you can partake in to help the planet is to compost.

I attended a whole...

Pros: Inexpensive, easy to assemble,
Cons: Insufficient for large gardens, plastic will warp over time

My little bit of Heaven

My garden is my refuge, a tiny sanctuary filled with deliciously fragrant lavender, roses, and scarlet monarda. It is my escape from the pressures of everyday life. There is nothing quite so satisfying as...

Pros: Inexpensive, made from recycled materials, easy to use
Cons: cheesy little trap door

I got my first Earth Machine through a promotion from a local government agency. It set me back a mere $35. Not a bad deal, although the next time they offered the Earth Machines I took them up on their 2 for $50 deal.

The...

Pros: Inexpensive
Natually heat generating
Clever Design
Fits in well without being an eyesore
Ease of Use
Ten Year Waranty
Cons: Mindful refuse layering is suggested to avoid gnats and flies!

We live in greater Los Angeles and the Department of Sanitation was selling the Earth Machine at great prices for city residents.  They normally retail for over $100 but we purchased ours through the City for about $20.  The incentive for the ...

Pros: Great for small-scale composters, and can't beat the price
Cons: a little flimsy for long-term use

I learned early on to be careful about who I wanted to tell about my new Earth Machine. Just mention the word "compost" and it was enough to clear a room--you'd think I was discussing the lost art of latrine-digging!

...

Pros: Easy assembly, attractive design, easy opening/closing, helpful composting instructions, no smells, pride with success.
Cons: challenge aerating, challenge removing compost.

In 1998, The East Baton Rouge Cooperative Extension gave away the Earth Machine Composter to anyone interested in owning one. I was fortunate enough to attend the giveaway and take home my first composter. I know that they usually sell for about $25....

Pros: Great way to recycle vegetative waste and keep it out of the landfill
Cons: Top can come off and be hard to reinstall correctly

Where I live, what you pay for garbage disposal depends on how much garbage you create. In addition to recycling paper, plastic, and glass, I compost my kitchen and yard waste using the Earth Machine Composter. The city was so motivated to get me to do ...

Pros: Compact for urban use; relatively inexpensive
Cons: Does not produce usable compost; difficult to use; warps after a brief period of time

So...you have decided to be a front-line eco-warrior and want to compost your kitchen/yard waste. For ease of handling and compactness, as well as the reasonable price tag, you choose The Earth Machine.

I'm sorry.

I, too,...

Pros: Cheap, easy to assemble, cultivates worms. Makes a good potato grower.
Cons: Flimsy, difficult to aerate, water and seal, open to critters. Badly designed.

King County sells these for practically nothing, and I was tired of composting in garbage bags, so, of course, I had to have one. I was better off with the plastic bags. This is a two-piece bin with a locking lid. It’s open at the bottom, with ...

Pros: plastic is thicker than I expected.
Cons: Tricky getting the top and bottom put together. The screw pegs are too short.

I got the Earth Machine a few months back, my town sells composters but not this one so I paid full price about $75/$80. The assembly is a bit tricky but if you follow the instructions and start in one spot and work your way around it you can ...

Pros: Cheap, easy to assemble, cultivates worms
Cons: Flimsy, difficult to aerate and seal

King County sells these for practically nothing, and I was tired of composting in garbage bags, so, of course I had to have one. I was better off with the plastic bags.

Assembling it was a breeze. Dumping things in was a simple matter, of...

Pros: Free; easy to read directions; keeps kid and dog out of compost
Cons: None

Noticed while reading these reviews (before getting my composter) that several reviewers complain that after taking the top section off, they couldn't get the parts to go back together.

Um, folks? The directions that came with my composter very clearly state not to take the two sections apart once you've assembled the thing.

This is not the World's Most Perfect Composter, but it hardly seems fair to me to condemn the device when you've disregarded the directions. That's user error, not a design flaw. And for something I got free from the trash company, the composter seems just fine.

Pros: Elderly mother lifelong gardener would like to use if she had all parts.
Cons: Lack of attention by company too bad if you are short changed.

Our family purchased 3 of these at a local promotion. My mother arrived home with hers not having the booklet package that also contained the screws to hold it down. I have sent an e-mail to the company through its website and although I received an automated reply that I would receive an e-mail in 24-48 hours; it is at least 3 weeks later and I have yet to hear from them. I have sent another to which I received another automated reply and have now as I vowed searched for a site to be public with my complaint of lack of attention to this matter and not even the courtesy to reply.

Pros: compact design
Cons: flimsy

Yes, Folks, it is very difficult to aerate this Earth Machine properly! Maybe to much "green"? I dont know but my "compost" has become a super breeding ground for maggots and flies! There has got to be an easier way?
I believe I will go back to "trench composting" That is, digging a long trench with my tiller, and putting all the kitchen scraps in there and then covering it with dirt.

Pros: lightweight, easy to lift off for turning, locking cover,
Cons: rather small for my 5 person family

I got my Earth Machine from our local municipal authority for about half the cost of retail. I had one of those heavy square black ones for a while before I learned about hot composting. I lift the entire contraption off the pile and place the Earth Machine next to the pile and fork and fluff the contents back into the Earth Machine. I just checked my pile temp this morning after turning 2 days ago and it was 135 degrees Fahrenheit!!! I don't use the plastic screws to hold it down, I use a piece of rebar( a tire iron works too) to make a hole in the pile for fresh food scraps, and then I store it in the screw hole. I keep a separate wire bin nearby to store leaves to add when I add fresh food scraps. Check out www.cornell.edu for composting tips!