Image: vitamix
TL;DR: As of July 13, the Vitamix FoodCycler is on sale at Best Buy for just $229.99. It normally retails for $349.99, so you’ll be saving $120.
A combination of yard waste and food scraps makes up nearly 30 percent of what most people throw away, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And while things like leftover salad, chicken bones, and coffee grounds probably don’t seem all that harmful compared to, say, single-use plastics that take eons to break down, they’re actually doing quite the number on the environment: When sent to a teeming landfill, decaying organic matter produces climate change-causing greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide. (New research indicates we really, really don’t need more of either of those things right now.)
SEE ALSO: 6 ways to reduce food waste, even during a pandemic
If you haven’t already, consider adding composting to your eco-friendly repertoire (i.e., placing those food scraps in an oxygen-rich environment where they can decompose into nutrient-rich material called humus). To quote Mashable’s very own senior culture reporter Rachel Thompson, “it’s a win-win activity”: Composting doesn’t just divert waste from landfills; you can repurpose the resulting humus into a fertilizer that’ll help your garden thrive.
Contrary to popular belief, home composting can be a hassle-free experience. You don’t even need a full-fledged yard or garden — just a few square feet of outdoor space on a shady patio, balcony, or deck. If you’re especially cramped for space, you can even compost right on your kitchen countertop with the help of Vitamix’s FoodCyler, an indoor food recycler that just happened to go on sale at Best Buy.
Image: vitamix
Billed as “a fresh approach to food waste,” composting with the FoodCycler involves little more than loading food scraps into the included aluminum bucket. Once the device is turned on, it’ll pulverize, aerate, and heat its contents to break them down into humus. Impressively, Vitamix says the whole process takes just three to eight hours (as opposed to traditional composting outside, which goes on for months) — and thanks to the device’s built-in carbon filtration system, it won’t produce any nasty odors that stink up your living space.
The last time we checked, Best Buy’s marked the FoodCycler down to just $229.99 — that’s 34% off its suggested retail price of $349.99.
