I’m always looking for ways to be more sustainable. An outdoor composting bin has become a natural part of my routine, but sometimes it can be a hassle, especially int he the winter.

So when Vego Garden reached out to ask me if I was interested in their Vego Kitchen Composter, I knew I had to give it a try! This compact, sleek, and smart appliance helps turn food scraps into a nutrient-rich soil amendment in no time, and I think you’re going to love how it works.

In this post, I’ll share what you’ll need to know about the Vego Kitchen Composter, from its specs to how it works and why it’s such a great option for anyone wanting to reduce food waste.

DISCLOSURE: First off you can find the companies information on the product here. They have a plethora of information on their website to help you have the best success with your composter. What I’m sharing in this post is my experience an overview of the product, its specs, how it works, and why it’s a great option.

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: This post also contains affiliate links. When you are shopping through my links, I potentially earn a small commission on your purchases, but at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting my work here by shopping my links!

What is the Vego Kitchen Composter?

The Vego Kitchen Composter is a sleek, electric composter that allows you to process food scraps from your kitchen into a soil amendment quickly and efficiently. Unlike traditional composting methods, which take weeks to break down food waste, the Vego composter can turn those scraps into nutrient-rich soil amendment in less than 24 hours. It’s compact, easy to use, and perfect for urban dwellers, gardeners, or anyone trying to reduce their environmental impact.

What’s Included?

• One Vego Kitchen Composter Device (comes in black or white)
• Top Lid (I love that it’s clear so you can watch the whole process)
• Inner Bucket
• Power Supply Cord
• Carbon Filter Box
• Carbon Filter Refill Kit
• Vego Tabs (These are not required, but help speed up the process
• Vego Composter User Manual
• Cheat Sheet of what you can compost (I hang mine on the fridge)
• Vego tabs

Why Should You Use the Vego Kitchen Composter?

Okay, let’s talk about why you might want to add the Vego Kitchen Composter to your kitchen. Here are a few reasons:

1. It Reduces Food Waste
   We’ve all been there—tossing out leftover vegetable peels, coffee grounds, or uneaten leftovers. According to the EPA food waste accounts for a huge chunk of what ends up in landfills, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. By composting, you can reduce that waste and contribute to a more sustainable planet.
2. Nutrient-Rich Garden Soil Amendment
   The best part? The “compost” called Vego Meal is valuable for your garden. It’s a natural, chemical-free way to enrich your soil, improve plant health, and reduce your reliance on store-bought fertilizers.
3. Sleek, Space-Saving Design
   Whether you live in an apartment or a house, the Vego Kitchen Composter is designed to fit right in. It’s compact enough for small kitchens and doesn’t take up a ton of space and looks nice.
4. No Odors
   One of the biggest concerns with composting is the smell. Thankfully, the Vego composter comes with activated carbon filters to trap any odors, so your kitchen stays fresh.
5. Whisper Quiet Operation

How Does the Vego Kitchen Composter Work?

You may be wondering, “How does this thing actually work?” Here’s the rundown:

1. Add Your Kitchen Scraps
   Just add your food scraps, like vegetable peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, and more, into the composter. (You’ll want to avoid meat, dairy, and oily foods, but we’ll get into that in a second.)
2. Choose a Mode
   The Vego Kitchen Composter has four composting modes to choose from, depending on how quickly you want your compost to be ready:
   • Vego Mode (9-24 hours/cycle ): Enables continuous loading of kitchen scraps to create a rich soil amendment. You can open the lid to add kitchen scraps at anytime, without needing to remove the contents before the cycle is done.
   • Express Mode (2-8 hours/cycle): This is a non-compost mode designed to quickly process our kitchen waste, which allows an eco-friendly solution for green waste. This can be tossed into your outdoor compost bin, or Worm composter for secondary composting.
   • Fertilize Mode (9-22hrs/cycle): Produces a semi-composted material quickly and efficiently for garden use.
   • Grass Mode (11-24hrs/cycle): This provides additional grinding speeds up biodegradation, creating nutrient-rich, ready-to-use organic matter for your lawn.
   • Clean Mode: (0.5hrs/cycle): Designed to keep your device maintained.
3. Wait for the Cycle to Complete
   Once you’ve added your scraps and selected your mode, the composter gets to work. It uses aerobic composting technology to break down food scraps quickly and efficiently.
4. Use the Compost
   After the cycle is finished, you’re left with a batch of nutrient-rich compost that can be used for your garden, lawn, or even your houseplants.

Vego Kitchen Composter Features You’ll Love

Now, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of the specs. The Vego Kitchen Composter comes with some impressive features that make it a standout product for anyone interested in composting:

• Smart App Control
  This isn’t a requirement, but if you’re interested in tracking your progress, adjust settings, and check the status of your compost from your phone, you’ll enjoy this feature. It will even show you how much in weight you are composting and your carbon Offset.
• Four Composting Modes
  Whether you need compost fast or you’re looking for an eco-friendly, slower process, there’s a mode for everyone. I think the Vego Mode is an impressive feature as it allows me to keep adding scraps to a cycle, which is very useful in our household. Here’s a break down of the modes:
  • Vego Mode (9-24 hours/cycle ): Enables continuous loading of kitchen scraps to create a rich soil amendment. You can open the lid to add kitchen scraps at anytime, without needing to remove the contents before the cycle is done.
  • Express Mode (2-8 hours/cycle): This is a non-compost mode designed to quickly process our kitchen waste, which allows an eco-friendly solution for green waste. This can be tossed into your outdoor compost bin, or Worm composter for secondary composting.
  • Fertilize Mode (9-22hrs/cycle)
  • Grass Mode (11-24hrs/cycle): This provides additional grinding speeds up biodegradation, creating nutrient-rich, ready-to-use organic matter for your lawn.
  • Clean Mode: (0.5hrs/cycle): Designed to keep your device maintained.
• Built-in Weighing System
  This feature ensures that the correct amount of food waste is added, optimizing the composting process.
• Activated Carbon Filter
  The Vego composter uses an activated carbon filter to trap any odors, so your kitchen doesn’t smell like compost.
• Quiet Operation
  If you’ve ever used a noisy kitchen gadget, you’ll appreciate how quiet the Vego composter is. It runs smoothly without disturbing your household.
• Buttons and Lights
  • On/off Button: Press button to turn on the device and press for three second to turn off.
  • Light Button: Press once to turn the light on or off. The light will turn off after one minute.
  • Wi-fi Indicator
  • Progress Bar Indicator:
  • Vego Mode Button
  • Express Mode Button
  • Fertilize Mode button
  • Grass Mode Button
  • Clean Mode Button

Technical Specifications

Here’s the nerdy details from the user manual and/or website. This list is not exhaustive, but will give you a good start. You can find the exhaustive list here.

Pay close attention to the dimensions so you know how much space it takes up on your counter.

Here we go:

• Dimensions: 14.37″ × 11.22″ x 12.64″
• Product Weight (Out Of The Box): 16.64 lb
•  Color: Black and White
•  Capacity/Volume -4 L
• Noise Level: < 50dB
•  Waste Volume Reduction 85% -95%
•  Power Input 120Vac, 60Hz, 400W
•  Materials RoHS compliant, FDA compliance
• Rated Power: 400W
• Bluetooth 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi
• Safety Regulation & Certification: ETL & CETL, FCC, IC

What Can You Compost with the Vego Kitchen Composter?

Now that you know how the Vego Kitchen Composter works, let’s talk about what you can (and can’t) compost:

What You Can Compost:

• Fruit and vegetable scraps (think potato peels, carrot tops, apple cores)
• Coffee grounds and filters
• Eggshells
• Bread, grains, and pasta
• Nuts and seeds

What You Can’t Compost:

• Meat, fish, or dairy products
• Oily or fatty foods
• Bones
• Non-organic materials (like plastic or glass)

Composting the right materials ensures that the process works efficiently and that you get the best compost for your garden.

PRO TIP:

Don’t leave your food scraps in the bucket for more than one day. I learned the hard way and my scraps got moldy. If you need to continuously add food scraps or will be away, this is a great time to use the Vego Mode.

How to set up your Vego Kitchen Composter

Initial Set-up

• Unbox the Composter and check that all products are intact. Once you remove the lid, you’ll find the carbon filter refill kit inside along with the power cord from the inner bucket.
• Place Composter on dry flat surface near a power source. They recommend placing it 6 inches away from walls to maintain sufficient air flow during the operation.
• Install the Carbon Filter (this can by a little finicky)
• Set up the App using the app you can download and install this on your smartphone to manage and monitor your composter.

Operating Your Composter

1. Plug in your Device
2. Press the on/off button to turn on the device
3. Open the lid by turning towards the arrow and remove the bucket. (This part I find a bit finicky too). It involves holding the handle and turning it counterclockwise until the triangle symbol on the lid aligns with the “unlocked” position.
   • NOTE: You can leave the inner bucket in the machine and just add kitchen waste directly into it, which is what I do. But, you’ll have to remove the inner bucket for sure once the compost cycle is done so you can take it out to your garden to dump out the compost amendment. When you are ready to replace the inner bucket you will line those triangles up again. Again this part takes some finagling.
4. Add Kitchen waste and VegoTabs into the bucket (you can chose whether or not you want to add the VegoTab though)
5. Close the Lid and start your selected Mode

Where to Buy the Vego Kitchen Composter

If you’re ready to start composting in your kitchen, you can get your hands on the Vego Kitchen Composter here This Vego Kitchen Composter is an investment in sustainability and a great way to reduce your food waste without taking up much space!

Final Thoughts: Is the Vego Kitchen Composter Worth It?

After using the Vego Kitchen Composter for several months at the writing of this post, I can say it’s definitely worth considering if you’re looking for a way to reduce food waste and create valuable soil amendment for your garden. The app integration, odor control, and different composting modes along with it’s sleek aesthetic design make it a versatile and user-friendly choice. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just someone trying to make a more sustainable choice, the Vego Kitchen Composter is a smart addition to any kitchen. I highly recommend giving it a try!

The post The Vego Kitchen Composter: Your New Favorite Kitchen Gadget for Reducing Food Waste appeared first on Michelle's Garden Grows.