Reencle vs Lomi: Which Food Waste Recycler Should You Buy?

Food waste is a major contributor to the climate crisis, and makes up 50% of waste sent to landfills in North America. This is clearly a problem that needs solving. Thanks to the invention of electric composters, it's easier than ever to reduce household food waste and even turn it into something useful.

The question, then, is which kitchen food waste recycler should you get? In this article, we're going to explore two appliance you might be looking at: Lomi and Reencle. While they differ in appearance, even more variability happens under the surface.They both have their pros and cons you'll want to consider before making a purchase.

• Reencle vs Lomi: how do they compare?
• Who should buy Lomi?
• Who should buy Reencle?
• Lomi vs Reencle food waste recycler: 5 important factors to consider
• The bottom line: which composter is better?

Let's start with an overview of the differences between the two electric composters before digging in deeper.

Reencle vs Lomi: how do they compare?

Lomi and Reencle both accomplish the function of turning food waste into dirt. However, they vary in quality, size, price, features, and much more. Here's a quick look at the differences between the two food waste recyclers:

*See this section for more details

As you can see, there are quite a few differences. Let's move on to some specifics so you can get a better idea of which electric composter you'd prefer.

Who should buy Lomi?

Lomi is a small but powerful countertop food waste recycler that will be stylish and effective in any home. With the push of a button, your food scraps can be turned into dirt in as little as 3 hours. Or, wait about 16 hours and your food scraps will create a nutrient-rich natural fertilizer for feeding your plants. This small appliance is quiet, odorless, energy-efficient, and conveniently reduces both food waste and bioplastics.

Although Lomi can be a great choice for anyone, it would be the best choice for the following people:

1. Anyone who hasn't used an electric composter before: Because Lomi has a money-back guaranteed 30-day trial period, you can buy Lomi and try it out without any risks. If you decide you don't love it, just send it back with zero hassle!
2. Eco-conscious people: Pela designed Lomi with both you and the earth in mind. Not only will Lomi help you reduce your waste, but it shows up to your home completely climate neutral.
3. Gardeners and plant-lovers: Lomi doesn't just reduce your food waste, it turns it into nutrient-rich dirt. That end product is perfect for adding to your planters or garden soil, as it provides a nutritious snack for all your plants.
4. People who use biodegradable plastic: Biodegradable plastics are normally tricky because they can't be composted at home or in industrial compost. Municipal compost programs usually sort them out as waste where they get sent to the landfill. However, Lomi can actually break down many compostable plastics, all of which can be found on our list of Lomi approved bioplastics.

Now, here are Lomi's pros and cons:

Who should buy Reencle?

Reencle is a relatively new electric composter, though it has features similar to many electric composters already on the market. Let's take a look at who would benefit most from purchasing Reencle:

1. People who can afford to take risks: Reencle is the more expensive product and doesn't have a risk-free trial at all. While this could be the perfect product for you, there will always be some risk when buying a Reencle.
2. People with extra floor space: Reencle is relatively large for an electric composter, and wouldn't be able to fit comfortably on your countertop. If you have extra floor space to dedicate to Reencle and would prefer not to have a countertop composter, then that's perfect for you.
3. People that create little bits of food waste throughout the day: Reencle is an appliance that will be running constantly throughout the day, breaking down whatever food waste you feed it. Although it will constantly require power, that means Reencle can be fed occasional food waste whenever you create some.
4. People who don't use bioplastics or paper products: If you're the kind of person who never uses disposable utensils or dishes, then Reencle will likely meet all your needs as it is only designed to process food waste. However, if you want to sustainably dispose of compostable plastics, you'll need to find another solution.

Let's move on to the pros and cons of the Reencle food composter:

Lomi vs Reencle food waste recycler: 5 important factors to consider

When comparing Lomi and the Reencle food waste recyclers directly, there are 5 factors we would consider the most important for you to pay attention to. Let's take a look at those 5 right now:

1. What can be broken down?

When buying electric composters, it's essential to understand what they're actually able to break down. You want to know if the electric composter you're buying will actually be able to compost the kind of food waste you're creating. Clear guidelines around what they can process will also ensure you don't include something you shouldn't and end up damaging the product or negatively affecting the finished product.

Lomi has an extensive and detailed list of what you can put in it and which mode of operation you should use for different waste. You can use Lomi to break down most kitchen scraps as well as a list of Lomi approved bioplastics and other compostable waste.

On the other hand, the Reencle doesn't provide much of a guide for what it can handle. There's a short list of food items it can break down on their website, but it creates a lot of uncertainty. Without knowing for sure if something can go in the Reencle electric kitchen composter, you're either going to end up with kitchen scraps that get thrown in the trash, or an undesirable end product from your composter.

2. Price comparison

Lomi and Reencle food waste recyclers have different pricing and trial options as well. Let's break them down here for you:

Reencle is far more expensive than Lomi and does not come with a risk-free trial. However, that increased cost does not seem to come with added benefits to warrant that price. Lomi is both the cheaper and safer purchasing option.

*Reencle costs more if you order it from Best Buy instead of their own website.

3. The difference in convenience

If you're buying an electric kitchen composter, it's likely because you're looking for a quick and convenient way of composting everyday food waste. With that in mind, electric composters should be designed with ease of use at the forefront. What's the point in getting an electric kitchen composter if it's just going to be difficult to use?

Pela designed Lomi to be as easy and convenient for the user as possible. That not only means general use, but cleaning as well. The bucket is simple to remove, and you can easily dump the dirt from the bucket into a container, green bin, or wherever else you want it. You can then put the bucket in a dishwasher whenever it needs to be cleaned.

Alternatively, Reencle is not so easy to take care of. First of all, the finished compost is not easy to remove. You're provided with a shovel to scoop out the finished product as needed while sifting out unfinished food scraps. Because of the large bucket size, it's also difficult to clean by hand, and you wouldn't be able to put it in a dishwasher.

4. Sustainability strategy and company mission

The ultimate goal of a kitchen counter composter is to make the world a greener place. By reducing organic waste, electric composters minimize methane emissions and space taken up in landfills. However, it's also important to consider how an electric composter is being made and distributed throughout the world.

Pela's primary goal is to improve the world's health by eliminating waste. They can't do that if the creation of Lomi negatively impacts the environment. So, they worked hard to ensure Lomi's production is climate neutral, and is proudly certified as a Climate Neutral company and B Corporation.

With Reencle, we have no idea how they're being made or distributed. They don't have any climate certifications to show that their process is not harmful to the environment. When buying Reencle, you just don't have any way of knowing what impact you're having on the planet.

5. Reviews

Lomi has been gaining in popularity ever since its release, and for good reason. Thousands of eco-conscious users are giving Lomi 5-star reviews and recommending the product to friends, family, and more. You can easily see what people are saying about Lomi on our reviews page, as all our reviews are publicly available.

Reencle boasts on their website that they have a 4.9/5 rating with over 100,000 reviews. However, they don't actually show these reviews anywhere. It's also a bit confusing where that number comes from when they haven't actually sold anywhere near that amount of units. If you look at their product page on Best Buy, they have a small number of 5-star reviews, but they are all written similarly in broken English and posted within a few days of each other.

The bottom line: which food waste recycler is better?

When comparing Lomi and Reencle, it's clear to see that Lomi is the superior product. Lomi is cheaper, more convenient, more eco-friendly, has clear and extensive composting guidelines, and is highly rated and recommended. You will never regret buying a Lomi, especially with its risk-free 14-day trial.

In comparison, Reencle is a newer product with a host of suspicious and inconsistent information on their website, including seemingly fake reviews. One advantage to Reencle is an increased bucket size, although the boasted capacity of machine changes across the website as well. With such a high purchasing risk, Lomi is the clear choice.