Reencle Essential Review: Nearly the Same as the Prime, for Less
A Wired reviewer compares the new, cheaper Reencle Essential kitchen composter with the older Prime. The Essential costs $150 less but has a lid that must be closed by hand.
Reencle has released a new, lower-priced electric kitchen composter called the Essential. A Wired reviewer tested it for about three weeks and compared it with the Reencle Prime, which she had used for nearly a year and a half. The Prime is still on sale, and the Essential costs $150 less.
What is different
The Essential is largely the same as the Prime, with a few small changes: a new look, a larger shovel, a lid that has to be closed manually, and a button that must be pressed to open it. The Prime's lid closes by itself, and it can also be set to open automatically when someone approaches, so the buttons and lid stay clean of dirty hands.
The reviewer's family often forgets to close the Essential's lid, having grown used to the automatic lids on both their trash can and their old Prime. At least a few days a week, a constant beep warns that the lid is still open. After only three weeks, the button and lid were already dirty.
Otherwise, the Essential offers the same user-friendly experience as the older model, getting close to producing compost.
How Reencle works
Kitchen composters such as Lomi and FoodCycler mostly grind and dry food scraps. The result is odorless and shelf-stable, but for garden use it has to be mixed into soil at a very low ratio, such as 1:10, or even 1:20 when a lot of meat and dairy is processed.
Reencle uses thermophilic bacteria, including Bacillus and Actinomycetes, to break down waste. The result is a biologically active material that is not ready-to-use compost but is part of the way there. The reviewer says other machines that do this are bulkier, pricier and louder. In her view, Reencle's large-capacity Gravity model is the only food recycler she has tested that is truly silent at all times.
