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Food Cycler

Eco 5 FoodCycler by Vitamix, quiet, odorless food waste reducer

    • Based on 85 reviews
Condition: New
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Availability: Only 4 left in stock, order soon!
Fulfilled by J.L. Hufford
Arrives Saturday, Dec 28
Order within 4 hours and 6 minutes
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Features

  • Alternative to Composting The Eco 5 breaks down food scraps that would otherwise end up in a landfill into nutrient-rich plant food that can be mixed right in to your garden soil
  • Large Capacity: The large 5-liter capacity bucket grinds food waste into a fine, dry powder.
  • Refillable Filters: Rather than throwing 1-time use filters away, the Eco 5 has sustainable, reusable filters that can be refilled with new carbon pellets.
  • Sustainable: Our FoodCycler grinds food waste into a fine, dry powder making it a fraction of its original volume overnight.
  • Compact: The Eco 5 fits almost anywherestore it on the counter, in the pantry, or in the garage.
  • Convenient & Easy To Use: The Eco 5 cycles through 8 phases to turn food waste into plant food with the press of a button.
  • Odorless & Quiet: The carbon filters to remove food smell and quiet cycles make the Eco 5 ideal for indoor use.
  • Whats in the Box: Eco 5 FoodCycler, Bucket & Lid, Refillable Filter, Carbon Refill Pellets, Instruction Manual

Description

The Eco 5 makes it easy for anyone make a positive environmental impact. It’s an effortless alternative to composting, and it reduces the volume of food waste by up to 90%. Food scraps and uneaten leftovers that would otherwise end up in a landfill are broken down into a nutrient-rich soil amendment that can be mixed right into your garden soil.”

Material: Plastic


Color: Slate


Brand: Food Cycler


Capacity: 5 Liters


Product Dimensions: 13.8"L x 13.5"W x 10.9"H


Shape: Rectangular


Item Weight: 29 Pounds


Material: Plastic


Color: Slate


Brand: Food Cycler


Capacity: 5 Liters


Product Dimensions: 13.8"L x 13.5"W x 10.9"H


Shape: Rectangular


Item Weight: 29 Pounds


Item Weight: 29 pounds


Manufacturer: Vitamix


Item model number: 71594


Date First Available: May 2, 2023


Frequently asked questions

The Eco 5 FoodCycler transforms kitchen scraps into a nutrient-rich soil additive in a matter of hours. It uses a combination of grinding and dehydration, evaporating water content, and reducing the volume of the food waste up to 90%. This process creates an odorless, sterile output that can be used as fertilizer, thereby reducing the food waste footprint.

No, the Eco 5 FoodCycler is designed to operate quietly. It has a noise level similar to a dishwasher, making it suitable for use in home environments without causing significant noise disruption.

The Eco 5 FoodCycler can process most types of food waste, including fruit cores, vegetable peels, dairy, and chicken bones. However, it is not recommended to process large bones, pits from peaches or avocados, or highly fibrous materials like corn husks as they can damage the unit or not be fully processed.

No, the Eco 5 FoodCycler does not require any additives or chemicals to operate. It is designed to reduce food waste through a mechanical and thermal process alone. For maintenance, it’s recommended to clean the unit's bucket regularly with soap and water and to replace the carbon filters as required to ensure the system remains odorless.

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Top Amazon Reviews

🚀 Abunda's Overview

This is our summary and key points to consider based on customer reviews.

Customers have overwhelmingly praised this kitchen food disposal management system for its ease of setup, quiet operation, and effectiveness in processing a wide variety of organic waste. Despite a few concerns about the cost of maintenance and the durability of certain components, the consensus is that it's a valuable addition for anyone looking to manage kitchen waste responsibly and efficiently.

Pros

  • 🌱 Easy to set up and use right out of the box.
  • 🔇 Remarkably quiet operation, comparable to modern dishwashers.
  • ♻️ Efficiently converts a wide range of food waste into compost, enhancing garden soil quality.
  • 👃 Pleasant smell of pre-compost, with no odors spreading through the house.
  • 🍃 Provides a sustainable solution to managing kitchen waste and reducing landfill contribution.

Cons

  • 💸 Higher maintenance costs due to the need for frequent charcoal filter replacements.
  • ⏰ Some users report longer than expected processing times for certain compost cycles.
  • 📚 The manual and product information may be out-of-date or unclear for some users.

Should I Buy It?

If you're committed to reducing your kitchen waste in an eco-friendly manner and are willing to invest in a solution that simplifies this process, then yes. Despite some maintenance costs, users find it to be an incredibly useful tool for enhancing their garden's soil and managing organic waste more efficiently. However, consider your budget and willingness to perform regular maintenance when making your decision.

    • Wow! so quiet!
Just received this today and am astounded how easy it is to set up and how quiet it is; impressive and a wonderful asset to my kitchen food disposal management; will prove to be worth the investment over time.
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2024 by jewels wilson
    • So cool!
Ok. I was a skeptic but I love a new gadget! I have the old school composter that you turn regularly. It’s fine but messy and smelly…plus I hate storing food waste on the counter then transferring slick food into the small hole of the composter. I’ve only had the Vitamix a week. We cook a lot so it’s been full and run every day. It’s crushed a full rotisserie chicken carcass. Today I used the by product to plant some new outdoor plants - I know they will love it. I will say the appliance itself is big….which for us is not an issue. It holds a good amount of scraps. We leave the bucket next to the sink and the composter in the pantry. So far. I love it. I’d recommend it. And so happy I don’t have slimy food waiting to be transferred any more! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024 by stljlo1214
    • Upgrade from the original
I decided to take the plunge and upgrade to this, both for the larger capacity, and because it fits on a counter top (or in my case on top of a mini fridge) far better than the original. This one takes compostable plastics much better than the old. It is more powerful, and I love that I can easily refill the charcoal rather than prying a filter open to do it. This works great, if you use it correctly. If you put in too much fat, or sugar you are going to get clumps. If you maintain a balance of what you put in there, it'll come out good every time. Also if what you are putting in is a little wet, add some paper towels (or do what I do, and put used paper towels in there). If what you are putting in is SUPER wet, try to dry the contents more. You'll not only not get a good end product if it's super wet, but you will eat through charcoal much faster! The wetter the contents, the quicker the charcoal expires. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2024 by Dianetta
    • 👍 👍 I’m a BIG Fan! So Excited for this New Addition to My Home!
Review Image by Jessica Jessica
Okay! This thing is AWESOME! 🤩 It arrived on time, VERY quickly and I got the unit running as soon as I got it! For my first trial of the unit, I slice up a large bag of overgrown carrots, 2 whole onions, some garlic, celery, and a bit of egg shells. I was aware that this combination was fairly moist, so I anticipated a longer run time for this go-around. The unit ran through a whole cycle overnight, and in the morning had a bit more moisture left, so I started another cycle the next day that ran for about 3-4 more hours (The picture was taken after the 2nd go-around). I set the unit up in my basement, so to escape from the processing noise and potential smell that was produced. To my surprise, the smell of the pre-compost produced was really pleasant when I opened the unit, but not detectable throughout my house. Highly recommend this product! And I believe it will make a huge difference in the organic produce I grow in my garden. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024 by Jessica Jessica
    • AS ADVERTISED
Worked flawlessly first three times, then the next two, the compost was VERY wet. I thought the machine was broken, but then I read to add some tore up paper towels if a lot of wet-ish stuff in the bucket. Did that, worked flawlessly again. I think may people have bought one after seeing my FB post about ours. A month ago I did not know such a thing existed. Now I am happy to have one. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2023 by Antoineet H.
    • The steep initial price plus too-frequent need to replace charcoal pellets.
Update after 3+ months: The charcoal filter has required replacing the pellets much more often than the info from Vitamix said to expect. We’ve had to replace ours at least every month. The $25 for each replacement means an annual cost of $300, which makes this device ineffective in terms of cost, though it does help with managing food waste. We’ve also found that it always requires ten or eleven hours to complete a cycle, which is longer than the Vitamix description indicated. It does work and is a good idea, but because of the total cost, I don’t think I’d buy it again. A real plus is that it is usually almost silent. A few times it has emitted loud groans and odd noises; the sounds caused us to laugh though, rather than cover our ears. Be sure to clean the filter in the lid often; The light, fluffy “compost” can make a little mess when the lid is opened. We vacuum and rinse around the lid when need be. I can’t say yet what effect the processed dehydrated food will have when added to garden soil as we are waiting for warmer weather before using it. I recently read that coffee grounds are not actually good for compost as caffeine stunts the growth of many plants. We are keeping the coffee grounds and filters separate from the other food waste and processing it once every week or two. Maybe we should try the recycled coffee as a weed suppressant? The manual that came with the one we received in Nov., ‘23 was not up to date; it seemed to be for the first model; it should also be more clearly written. Got this six weeks ago, have used it a lot, and so far it works very well. Two times the compost wasn’t completely dry, so I restarted and let it run again. The past week I’ve been adding fading holiday greenery from the mantelpiece—small holly and magnolia leaves and twigs—to the usual things such as coffee filters and grounds, fruit cores and peels, vegetable trimmings. The faded greenery and twigs were so good for the compost mixture that I’ll be adding other plant prunings. The compost came out very much like loose peat moss, light and fluffy! Before buying, I read different opinions about the ecological impact, decided against getting this, then decided to try it. I am concerned about recycling the recycler when it quits working. If Vitamix would recycle old machines, it would be a responsible thing to do. My hope is that the food cycler is one stage on the way to more effective solutions. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2024 by Careful Reader
    • A Great Solution to Garbage Disposal
Our town issued what I call "slop buckets," for kitchen waste. They will not allow even biodegradable bags and expect people to let garbage fester inside these between trash collections. They did offer one suggestion--keep your garbage in the freezer between trash days (!). To get around this bureaucrat-created non-solution, I purchased this new, heavy duty unit by Vitamix. Now I store dehydrated, finely ground matter in an omega bucket and can either use in garden as a soil amendment or put into my green waste container. It has a larger capacity than the original unit, which would have been too small for us. I also like the covered bucket, which stays on the counter top between loads and does not let odor escape. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2023 by E. Gilbert Deffenbaugh

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