The countertop kitchen composter is a lovely vision. Instead of smelly buckets of scraps, you could grind up eggshells and banana peels in a nifty gadget. But the reality is far less magical: most of these devices reduce volume and eliminate odors, not transform waste into compost.

While the Reencle Prime comes closest to a traditional compost bin, it still needs your help with adding 'browns'—dry materials like bread or shredded paper—to mitigate smells. The Lomi 3 does an excellent job of grinding and drying food scraps but still requires some manual intervention for optimal results.

Despite critics’ concerns about greenwashing, these devices encourage more awareness of food waste reduction. They use minimal power and can handle larger volumes than you might think—making them a legitimate choice for reducing municipal solid waste. Plus, the Reencle Prime even produces something close to compost after three weeks of curing.

For most households, these machines are tools for reducing household waste rather than full-fledged composting solutions. They're quiet, easy to use and can accept a variety of food scraps, including meat and dairy—though not bioplastics like the Lomi 2 could.