Kitchen waste,composted in-house

In 18 to 24 hours, depending on the model. Kitchen waste is sorted, shredded and loaded with sawdust, and the sealed, jacket-heated chamber does the rest. When the cycle ends, one button opens the front doors and the compost comes out into trays, so each day's waste is dealt with the next day.

Very little. The machines are slim stainless units sized to your daily kitchen waste. For example, the 100 kg model measures 6 x 2 x 4.5 ft and the 250 kg model 7 x 2.5 x 5.5 ft. Your site needs enough floor space and an MCB electrical point, and our free 3D scan checks the fit.

The chamber is sealed and the air leaves through six-stage filtration built to control odour, with no carbon filters to replace. The machine runs under 35 dB. Keeping the blower mesh and doors clean, as the support guide explains, helps it keep working as designed.

On the 100 kg machine, power use is about 23 units per cycle. Jacket heating wraps the whole chamber instead of using a hot rod, which keeps the power bill low. There are no carbon filters to buy, and each machine has a built-in energy meter you can watch in the mobile app.

Fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, bones, shells, pasta, bakery items, cheese, eggshells, tea bags and coffee grounds all go in. Liquids, grease, cooking oil, plastic, glass, metal, diapers and takeaway containers do not. Sort the waste on a segregation table, then shred it before loading the composter.

About 144 kg of food waste a day, which fits the IMB-OWC-250FA composter. Our planning estimate assumes 0.15 kg of food waste per meal, so 800 meals make 120 kg, and it adds 20% for growth. Your real waste may differ, so we confirm the size after a site visit.