Futuristic Trash Can Shrinks & Renews Food Waste Right In Your Kitchen

It’s so easy to dump unwanted food into the trash and forget where it goes or what it could do to the environment. It’s even easier to mistake scraps for garbage when they can actually be repurposed into something else to give back to nature instead.

Spearheading this idea of circular food waste is an ex-Apple engineer and co-founder of Google Nest, Matt Rogers, who has dreamed up a trash can that can take in your leftovers and churn out chicken feed right in your kitchen.
 
The venture, named ‘Mill’, brings forward a “food-shrinking, de-stinking” trash receptacle that stops leftovers from ending up in the landfill.

How Mill works is that food can be thrown into it, as you would a regular trash can, but instead of stinking the place up as it rots, Mill can dry and grind your leftovers overnight and produces what looks like coffee grounds by the morning. Of course, it’s not actually coffee but rather chicken feed.

This feed is picked up by the company and distributed for use. It can be made from all types of waste, including produce, fish, dairy, eggs, rinds, pits, seeds, bones, napkins, filters, and paper towels. And to stop it from overspilling, Mill is equipped with shrinking capabilities that allow the grounds to take up as little space as possible.

So, on top of saving the environment, it will also save you time as you won’t need to take out the garbage for weeks. Via a dedicated app, the equipment can track how full it is, and the scheduling of your collection, and it can tell you what can and cannot go into it.
 
If you’re worried about any foul odors, don’t be. It comes with a coconut-based charcoal odor filter that keeps your kitchen from smelling rotten food.

Mill works on a subscription basis where for US$33 a month if you pay annually or US$45 for a per month fee, you will receive return boxes, scheduled pickups, and fresh supplies whenever you need them.
 
An official launch is expected to hit around spring, but those eager to make chicken feed can reserve a spot now.
 
 
 
[via PC Mag and Bloomberg, images via Mill]