This is an article on the Lomi smart waste kitchen composter.
I know it shouldn’t, but food waste grosses me out.
My family and I try to eat clean and healthy. We like cooking our own food instead of relying on take outs or processed food. This includes fresh food, vegetables, fruits, and a whole lot of meat.
Day to day cooking means tons of food waste. I’ve been looking for ways to be able to properly dispose of food waste.
I found myself intensely researching the composting process, what materials I would need, and the best practices. That’s when I stumbled upon Lomi, a smart kitchen composter.
I read up on it and I just knew it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. For this review, I will be detailing everything one would need to know about it – the good and the bad.
So for a detailed review on the Lomi composter, go ahead and read on below!
Why You Should Compost
For the most part, composting provides a solution (if not the best solution) to the food waste problem many households face.
What is composting?
Composting is the natural, microbial process of converting organic matter (ie. food waste, leaves, peels, eggshells, etc.) into usable, organic soil. Composting results in compost, which gardeners and farmers refer to as “black gold”. They’re rich in nutrients good for plants.
Organic matter naturally and eventually decomposes on its own. Composting simply helps and speeds up this naturally-occurring process. Having your own composting system at home also reduces the amount of food waste and scraps you send over to landfills.
Composting is much better for the environment but the traditional way would require outdoor space, time, and manual work. But when you have a full-time job or live in an apartment in the city, these are just two things not readily available on your lap.
There are also composting services in some areas. These are, however, not available in all areas.
Can’t food waste and food scraps just go in the trash?
Any food waste tossed in the trashcan ends up in landfills which then generates a significant amount of methane, a much more potent greenhouse gas.
Food waste is already a pressing world issue, and Lomi poses a solution to this.
Lomi: A Detailed Review on the Smart Kitchen Composter
Who is Pela?
Pela has environmental consciousness and the zero-waste movement at its heart. They dedicate themselves in sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices.
Pela is behind the world’s first 100% eco-friendly, compostable, and zero-waste phone case.
And to take their waste-free movement up a notch, they launched and introduced Lomi, a smart kitchen composter, into the world in 2021.
What is the Lomi composter?
Lomi is a smart, electric kitchen countertop composter. Its main purpose is to transform food waste and other organic waste and matter into useful, organic dirt. This, in turn, is nutrient-rich and can be used on your garden or house plants.
Lomi turns what’s supposed to be waste into something more useful, not only for you but for the environment as well.
Lomi aims to eliminate waste within hours, a huge contrast from the traditional composting method which requires a lot of time and huge outdoor space. Lomi is able to reduce your weekly waste and trash by 50-80%. This is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and do your part for a greener future.
Lomi helps prevent food waste from ending up in landfills, which they do not belong in. This helps lessen methane and greenhouse gasses that generate into the environment.
Lomi’s filtering system uses activated charcoal to eliminate foul smells and odors from trash, waste, and composting processes. With Lomi, you are able to eliminate and filter out up to 99% of food waste odors. Lomi’s bucket is dishwasher safe, therefore very easy to clean up as well.
Lomi was engineered with consumers in mind. It’s very user-friendly and is very easy to operate and navigate. With a single push of a button, the unit automatically starts the composting process and you only have to wait for it to finish.
Who is it for?
Lomi composter is recommended for anyone, as everyone accumulates food waste.
If you want to involve yourself in composting but have had trouble with doing so for your household, this is definitely a good addition to your home.
Lomi is perfect for people who want to lessen their weekly garbage by up to 80%. Now, when it’s time to clean up after meal preps or meals, simply scrape off and drop all the food waste into Lomi.
If you’re someone who doesn’t like handling food waste garbage (understandably), Lomi offers a solution with its odor-neutralizing filtering technology.
Lomi’s target market is basically everyone. If you’re concerned about the amount of waste you put into landfills, this is an investment really worth considering.
How does it work?
At a glance, the way the Lomi composter works is very simple:
- Scrape away and put all your food waste, scrap, and other waste into your Lomi bucket.
- With a single push of a button, Lomi starts working on breaking down your waste.
- After the cycle is done and depending on the mode you used, you either get nutrient-rich dirt your plants and garden will love or green bin-ready dirt.
Lomi’s technology helps accelerate the natural composting process with heat and by breaking down food waste and Lomi-approved products and packaging.
At first, Lomi grinds and breaks down everything you put into it. A combination of moisture content, warm temperatures, and huge oxygen levels make sure there is an optimal composting environment for all your waste inside the unit.
Lomi is able to go through an entire cycle anywhere from three to twenty hours. Lomi has three different modes to choose from and has varying cycle timeframes as well.
- Eco Express (3-5 hours) is the fastest and simplest mode Lomi has to offer. After each cycle, the waste you put into it shrinks a lot and is now ready to add into your compost pile or green bin.
- Lomi Approved Mode (5-8 hours) is Lomi’s special feature that is able to break down Lomi-approved products, packaging, and bioplastics. This also comes out as dirt and can readily be added to people’s green bins.
- Grow Mode (16-20 hours) gives you that nutrient-rich soil and fertilizer your plants and garden will love.
While Eco Express and Lomi Approved Mode allow for mixing in both food scraps and Lomi-approved materials, the unit’s Grow Mode should only be done with food waste and nothing else.
When adding bioplastics along with your cycle, always keep in mind the optimal ratio of 10% bioplastics to organic waste. Make sure to not exceed this recommended amount when composting such materials. Never run a cycle with Lomi-approved materials or bioplastics only.
What are the technicalities and specifications?
The Lomi composter is a countertop kitchen appliance. While it does some *dirty* work, it looks sleek and modern in any household and can easily fit just about anywhere.
Lomi measures 16″ W x 13″ D x 12” H and weighs 9kg. Every Lomi unit uses a very low amount of electricity – less than 1kWh on any cycle you start. Lomi has three different modes you can use and each mode has varying electricity usage:
Eco Express Mode: less than 0.60kWh
Lomi Approved Mode: less than 0.75 kWh
Grow Mode: uses around 1 kWh
Pela has also specified voltage requirements to power up your Lomi compostert: 110V for USA and Canada-bought units. 220-240V with a type C plug for EU-bought units and 220-240V as well for units with the Australia Plug.
Pela 360 program
Lomi is made entirely of recyclable plastics on the outside with metal in the interior. It’s also part of the brand’s Pela 360 Program. At the end of your Lomi’s life, instead of disposing of it and adding waste to yet another landfill, you have the option of sending it back to Pela.
Through the program, the brand aims to upcycle it into an entirely new product or recycle it properly. You can reach their customer service at hello@pela.earth to help you send back your unit to return it to their program.
What comes in the package?
Every order of a Lomi composter comes with the following:
- 1 x Lomi
- 1 x power cable
- 1 x packet of LomiPods
- 2 x bags of activated charcoal Filters
- A user manual
LomiPods?
LomiPods are additives you use with your Lomi cycles. These are a blend of probiotics that work to improve the speed of the degradation process, reduce foul odor, and give you much healthier soil output to use for your garden and house plants.
Pela recommends using LomiPods with two out of three of their cycles: Grow and Lomi Approved Mode. Grow Mode is when you plan on using the outcome for your plants while Lomi Approved is used when running a cycle with bioplastics.
LomiPods are very easy to use. They’re added on top of the food waste and then add 50ml of water to the pods before starting your cycle.
Pela offers a one-time purchase or subscription plan for LomiPods here.
What goes in and what shouldn’t?
The beauty of Lomi is it welcomes all sorts of organic waste.
The following food scraps and waste items can always go in your Lomi composter:
- Coffee grounds
- Eggs and/or eggshells
- Leafy greens
- Fruit and vegetable scraps
- Soft peels
- Tofu
- Plant and yard trimmings and flowers
- Loose tea leaf
It’s best to diversify your mix of waste to add into your unit. Always cut up larger food pieces into smaller ones so your unit can have an easier time processing them.
For more information on what kinds of waste and items can go into your Lomi, check out this intensive guide from Pela, themselves.
Grow mode
In the guide, you will notice that Lomi’s Grow Mode has its own set of approved food and organic waste to include. In Grow Mode, make sure to only add raw food waste to give your plants and garden the best organic fertilizer results:
- Cooked food and leftovers
- Non-dairy dips
- Meat scraps
- Nuts, seeds, and grains
Lomi-approved products
For Lomi Approved mode, you can add almost any food waste but for the Lomi-approved products and packaging you can add, check out this guide.
What not to add?
To prevent damage to your unit or unfavorable dirt texture, it’s recommended to avoid adding the following into your Lomi cycles:
- Butter and cooking oils
- Fruit pits
- Hard bones (Lomi can handle soft bones from fish or small chicken bones that have been boiled for broth)
- Human and animal waste
- Hygiene products
- Liquids (though a small amount and liquid-associated food like chili or yogurt are exempted)
- Plastic lined bags
- Non-organic materials
- Unpopped popcorn kernels
- Styrofoam
For a more intensive guide explaining what can go in Lomi and what can’t, read Pela’s article guide here.
Lomi compost: what comes out?
What comes out of Lomi after a cycle is a natural fertilizer in the form of dirt. Lomi dirt is technically not compost but it’s also naturally high in nutrients good for your plants, much like the nutrient-rich compost.
With Lomi pods, you can get better quality organic fertilizer.
Lomi “compost” made through the Grow Mode can always be added to your plants, garden, and lawn to give them a boost of nutrients. You can also add Eco Express dirt to your plants, so long as the Grow Mode guidelines of what needs to be added have been followed. If not, it can be added to your compost pile, compost bucket, or green bin.
Lomi Approved Mode contains bioplastics. This means you can’t add this end-product to your plants and garden. They should always be put into your green bin.
Thanks to Lomi’s neutralizing technology, Lomi compost is very safe to handle. It’s actually safer to handle than most home compost. There are also zero foul odors during the process and in the end product Lomi dirt.
How is it different?
There are, of course, other composters out in the market right now. But if we’re talking about technology, Lomi, as a countertop composter uses completely new technology and is currently patent-pending.
Unlike food dehydrators, Lomi breaks down food scraps and creates nutrient-rich dirt plants love. On top of that, it’s also able to decompose Lomi-approved bioplastics and materials.
Currently, it’s the only home appliance in the market that is able to do that.
How much is it and where to buy it?
Lomi retails at $499 per unit on Pela’s website or on Amazon.
Lomi is available to be shipped to the USA, Canada, the UK, EU, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Hopefully, it’s soon available in more countries worldwide.
Lomi Reviews: What Customers Have To Say
Many were impressed at how nice this countertop composter looks. It looks sleek and modern on top of countertops, totally not what you would expect from a composter unit that transforms waste to dirt.
Using it, many were able to achieve a no fuss, no mess, no smell clean up of food waste and other organic matter. And using Lomi dirt as organic fertilizer, many would attest that plants do like it. Many noticed a huge difference in the growth and state of their plants once they started incorporating this into them.
Thanks to the odor-neutralizing technology, this leaves homes fresh-smelling. The Lomi dirt also has a more neutral, earthy smell to it. Even as it processes the waste, this emits no odor at all.
Lomi is very user-friendly and is very easy to navigate, even for people not very tech-savvy. The package comes with detailed printed instructions, plus the intensive guides on Pela’s site.
This is a great home appliance for big or small households, and much better than outdoor compost systems.
The few drawbacks this comes in is, of course, the price. This is pricey but many people see it as a good investment, nonetheless. It also has some noise to it during cycles, about the same noise as a refrigerator running.
A few also found it taking up a little more counter space than they would’ve liked.
Pros:
- Sleek and modern
- No fuss, mess, or smell
- User-friendly
- Plants like the Lomi dirt
Cons:
- Expensive
- A bit noisy
- Takes up more counter space
Lomi Alternatives: When Lomi Isn’t For You
Closest Alternative: Vitamix FC-50 FoodCycler
Like Lomi, this also breaks down food scraps and transforms it to organic fertilizer. With this, a household can cut down on food waste by up to 90%. This has a 4-8 hour processing time. And just like Lomi, you only need to fill the bucket with food waste, press the button, and wait for it to process. This also works to eliminate foul odor.
For Bigger Families: Enviro World Free Garden Compost Bin
This manual compost system has a large 11 cubic feet capacity, perfect for bigger families who accumulate a lot of food scraps. This has a single-body design and wouldn’t require assembly or complicated maintenance. With a strategically-located ventilation system, maximizes the composting system. This is made from 100% recyclable materials and promises to withstand extreme weather conditions. An outdoor unit, comes with an animal and pest-resistant lid.
For Manual Compost System: SCD Probiotics All Seasons Composter
This is a beginner-friendly kit that turns all food scraps to the compost pile. This comes with a special all seasons bokashi compost starter to control odor and break down kitchen scraps naturally and rather quickly. This provides compost tea, which plants love as a natural fertilizer. This is easy to access with the built-in spigot.
Conclusion
Lomi is a smart, electric kitchen countertop composter. This little unit works to break down food waste and other organic waste to useful, organic dirt. This Lomi dirt outcome is rich in nutrients good for your garden, plants, and lawn.
Lomi’s number one mission is to help households reduce their weekly trash by 50-80% and lessen their overall carbon footprint. They made it their life’s mission to prevent kitchen scraps from reaching landfills where it will generate methane.
Lomi provides an easy and convenient way of discarding organic food waste and other Lomi-approved materials and bioplastics. And in the process, you get to feed your plans much-needed nutrients.
Lomi processes are anywhere from three to twenty hours, depending on the mode you decide to run. The unit has three modes to choose from: Eco Express, Lomi-Approved Mode, and Grow Mode.
And to make sure your home isn’t filled with foul-smelling odor, this has odor-neutralizing filters. Lomi dirt is much safer to touch and handle than most home compost, plus plants love them.
And that has been our detailed review on Lomi! If you want to get one yourself, click here.
