SCD Probiotics Indoor Composter Bucket – 5 Gallon, Tan Compost Bin for Kitchen Countertop with Lid, Spigot and Strainer for Easy Start Bokashi Composting

The bokashi composter bin itself is great. It seals up your compost, it's easy to drain of the liquid compost tea. I highly recommend this for anyone in an apartment and who can't set up an outdoor compost area. I recommend that after it becomes more full, take the plastic separator off and wash it and then fill the bin to the top and store the separator outside of the bin. Also i use vinegar to clean out the bin and leave a little inside if it's going to sit without food for a while to deodorize it. That being said, this isn't entirely smell free and will still resemble food when it's done sitting, but if you get the right bran it is definitely low smell and low hassle and the process will be sped up. Draining the bin regularly is absolutely essential. I find it easiest after it's sat for a while, to mix the compost in with soil as i shovel it out and then just spread it in the yard. This way it has a chance to finish composting and it also doesn't look like you're just dumping brown food in the yard. The all seasons bran is very inconsistent. You could get bran that does it's job and has a very earthy aroma and really activates the compost and keeps the smell and moisture to a minimum... or you will essentially get a paper pulp that does nothing. SO get the bin, find a different brand of bokashi bran.... or make your own.

Happy with these, no problems with lids as some have noted. Have been using them for bokashi composting about two months. No problem with smells and we have them in the kitchen. We keep a cup under the spigot as we had one leak once, probably our fault for not tightening properly. We are more careful now and have had no more leaks. We have two composters: fill one & let it work, while we then fill the second. Two works well for our family of three veggie & fruit lovers. We haven't put meat scraps in, but do put eggshells in.

wonderful solution to recycling of food remains... better than a worm bin, but fermented foods can be fed to the worms.

I am disappointed in this product. It cost $60.00, but is made of cheap and flimsy plastic. I think a homemade one could probably be made for less than $10.00. A better one could have easily been home made with a 5 gallon plastic paint bucket, a filter screen, a drill, and a watertight spigot assembly to fit the hole. Upon the very first use, the draining spigot fell off when I tried to drain it. I was able to put it back on, but it leaks, and I have to keep it in a large plastic bus tub to prevent sour smelling leakage from damaging my floor. One of the most irritating things is that it requires some sort of weight to be placed on top of the composting material to prevent air from getting into the processing compost; but I don't have anything at all that is suitable for this purpose. I cannot understand at all why a cheap item that is this overpriced didn't at least come with a properly sized, custom fitted top piece that could weigh the composting matter down properly. I am completely stumped about what I can use for this purpose because I don't have anything the right size and shape. The instructions suggest a bag of beans, but that doesn't fit at all, and I don't want a bag of soggy, spoiling beans to dispose of when the process is finished! Immagine! They charged me $60.00 and didn't even supply all the parts!!! If I had wanted to use such hillbilly methods as bags of beans, I could have used an old paint bucket and saved myself the money to purchase an upscale, expensive glitzy item whose hype far outweighs it's value!!! The design is clever and this could have been a really useful item if the makers of this product were not so intent on getting as much as they can while giving as little as they can. I just wish I had gotten a quality product for a fair price. Even $60.00 would have been acceptable if the product had been well made and had included all the required parts. I don't mind paying for what I get as long as I get what I pay for. This compost bucket stinks of greed even more than the rotting garbage inside! I am really sorry I bought this, and might look into sending it back. But, now that it already has composting food scraps in it, I don't know if they will accept a return. I kind of think I have wasted $60.00 + dollars!

Hi got a used one and love it. I keep it outside and if Bees or other bugs are around it it, I hit it with the garden hose. I use a little of the liquid and add water then put it on any of my plants, some times it takes a while to show how well it works. and yes it will smell really really bad just like any other Good Compost will. Love Love it and have had it for 3 years now.

I have had one of these for over a year or two (the black one), and have used it as a compost bucket before transferring scaps to my compost pile. It is a great compost bucket. It keeps smells in, insects out, is durable, etc. However, I just got the book "Bokashi Composting", and realize I have been using it wrong. Bokashi needs to be stirred in. The bokashi predigests the compost in this anaerobic system. According to author Adam Footer, when properly done, there is no smell, or a pleasant smell. He also discusses how you can make your own bokashi. All food scaps can go in, including meat, unlike a regular pile. I am so enthusiastic about this that I just ordered 3 more of these for friends. The price on this one is cheaper than making one, and this one is much more attractive, and has a spigot. (He also tells you how to make one the book.) There is not need to "batch" as another reviewer suggested. One adds compost and bokashi until it is full. He recommends covering the compost with a plastic bag to keep it more anaerobic while filling the bin. When full, it should sit for 2 weeks, before transfer to the garden, where it should be buried in a future bed, which can be planted in an additional 2 weeks. He also tells how to make it into potting soil in a bucket on the porch, which does not seem as practical. I was concerned about the 2 week wait, as I currently dump it into my compost bin as soon as it is full (using as a compost bucket, remember) I may use one of the 3 I am now buying, and alternate them. However, it occurs to me that I could also probably let it rest in an air tight 5 gallon bucket with lid for 2 weeks. Per writer, this is a much simpler and faster method of composting, which does not require the right mix of materials, temperature control, and produces a useable product quite quickly. This unit would not necessarily be very helpful for an apartment dweller with no garden space. However, I plan to give 2 of these to friends in apartments with the hope that they will give me their finished compost, and I will put it in my garden. Of course, if one is simply trying to save the planet, and not make a garden, I suppose one could bury it anywhere where one has access to bare dirt, rather than filling landfills with soil enriching, biodegradable compost. Really though, with the cost and hassle of the bokashi, unless you have a use for the compost, this is probably not for you.

I couldn't be more pleased with this bucket. It is so well constructed. I will order more since it fits my needs perfectly.

This is the first non-electric composting bin that I've found that's designed to be used INDOORS. We bought one for our kitchenette at work. You add food scraps, sprinkle a little Bokashi activator on them, then seal it up until the next time you have scraps. You are supposed to use a plastic bag of beans or a metal plate or something else to rest on top of the scraps to keep them from coming into contact with too much air inside the bin -- they are clear on that in the instructions that come with it but don't explain it well in the marketing materials. Once full, you have to leave it sealed up for a few weeks to finish composting then bury the partially-digested compost outdoors. Unlike yard compost, the process is anaerobic and you do NOT get finished compost, more like fermented quasi-compost. The bin seals up well and does not smell bad but it does smell when open (tolerable but sour smell). The decomposing material gets moldy and I always feel like I should wash my hands (which sometimes get stuff on them) after opening the bin. Also, this green-and-tan version does NOT come with Bokashi activator like most of the kits available online so you have to buy that separately. From a design point of view, the bin is sturdy and the lid seals well but they should have included a plastic separator or metal plate or something else to keep the air off the scraps inside the bin. UPDATE SIX MONTHS LATER: I am changing my review from four stars to two. After sealing up the bin for about 6 weeks during the winter, one of my co-workers took it home to empty it in the spring. The odor of the contents was frankly DISGUSTING and lingered for days in his backyard and garage even after the partially composted materials were buried in the yard. You need to be VERY VIGILANT about emptying the liquid from the spigot and get rid of the contents if it starts to turn nasty (although we weren't sure what to do mid-winter). You probably should be very generous with the Bokashi activator as well. We're trying to decide if we should persevere with using the bin or try something else.