Romi Indoor Composter Review: Is This Magic?

I am a convert. Her wife recommended an indoor composter. We live on a ship and have limited space, so it took me a while to figure this idea out.

of Romicon poster by Pela Earth represents a true breakthrough in ease of use and convenience in indoor home composting, solving a major problem when it comes to the inevitable food waste associated with two small children. What it does still seems magical to me. A combination of heat, agitation, and possibly pixie dust (I guess) can turn a bin full of food waste into a mere few hours. Turn it into a handful of usable dirt.

Is a home composter right for you? To answer that question, I’ll detail how I’ve been using lomi every day for the past month.

specification

Voltage	Romi in the US and Canada will be 110V. EU model is 220-240V with type C plug. Australian plugs are 220-240V.
Power consumption	Eco Express: less than 0.60 kWh. Romi approved: less than 0.75 kWh.Grow mode: use about 1 kWh
size	Romi measures 16″ W x 13″ D x 12″ H or 228mm W x 388mm D x 314mm H.
weight	9 kg (19-20 lbs)
product material	Romi’s exterior is made of recyclable plastic and interior parts are made of metal. Romi is part of his 360 program. This means that when Romi reaches the end of its life, it can be sent back to Pella for recycling responsibly.
eco express mode	3-5 hours. This is a great way to start the decomposition process. It reduces waste significantly and makes a great addition to your compost as a starter.
growth mode	Grow mode takes 16-20 hours. By the end of this cycle, you will have a microbe-rich final product that is ready to use.
Romi certification mode	Romi approval mode takes 5-8 hours. This is one of Romi’s characteristics. Unlike other composters, Romi can break down certified bioplastics into dirt and put it in the green bin.

Usage

seriously. magic.

Ok, it’s not.

Romi accelerates the composting process by using heat and friction to break down food waste, approved bioplastics and packaging. The Lomi Cycle is a multi-step process in a small machine, designed to mimic natural composting at every step.

The first stage is grinding. Naturally, you will hear this. It’s worth pointing out here that Romi makes noise. It’s like a bread machine in knead mode. However, grinding is essential for the composting process. Small food pieces are easier to break down than large clumps, as the increased air permeability and surface area make it easier for microbes to break down the waste.

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Then a heating and cooling cycle begins to break down the food. The machine mimics the mesophilic (medium temperature), thermophilic (hot stage), and cooling stages of nature, completing in hours what would take months in nature. Internal sensors ensure proper moisture content, warm temperatures, and enough oxygen for natural decomposition. Three Romi modes – Eco-Express, Glow, and Romi Approved – do this at varying rates, influencing the final product and what you can do with it.

At least my kids are fixated on magical stories. They call Romi the “Princess Food Crusher” and enjoy feeding her unwanted leftovers.

Setup and form factor

The device is not small. This is a consideration when counter space is limited. We don’t have spare counter space to talk aboard Lindy, a World War II-era yacht, so we keep it under the table in the saloon. It’s convenient for you to leave your kitchen garbage on the dash to school.

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Before using Lomi for the first time, the two filters must be filled with the activated charcoal that comes with the device. Charcoal pellets are dangerous if left unattended and leave black streaks on anything they touch. Pouring them into the lomi filter isn’t complicated, but I found it difficult to keep out of the mess thanks to the charcoal dust.

The charcoal should be replaced every three months to keep the lomi scent fresh. This is an additional cost that potential buyers should be aware of. At the time of this writing, a 90-cycle supply of charcoal from Pela Earth costs about $50 with a subscription (or about $55 without).

Once the charcoal is in, just insert the lomi and you’re ready to go.

use romi

This is a real revelation for me. As many consumers strive to be environmentally conscious, I sometimes wince every time I throw food waste into the trash.

A big part of the problem is that we live in Marina del Rey and don’t have a household food waste program. As Pela Earth quickly points out, food waste is the most common material being landfilled and incinerated in the United States. 24% and 22% Amount of domestic waste landfilled and incinerated. and 50% of the volume Waste North Americans Send to Landfills It is an annual compostable material.

Lomi is an alternative to throwing food waste in the trash.

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We basically use it as a trash can for garbage and food scraps. It’s under our table and whenever the kids can’t be tempted to finish their meal, or there’s leftover skins and scraps from preparing dinner, that’s all. , once the inside is delimited by a line, perform romi as easily as pressing a button.

Running Lomi in Eco-Express mode typically takes about 3-5 hours. The resulting product is much less bulky than what we put in, so we leave the dirt and put new food waste on top of it. We recommend that you do not run

Romi recommends adding a mix of different food wastes. Here’s a helpful breakdown In general, of the different items allowed in different modes.

Which mode do you use?

There are 3 modes, eco express, Romi approvedWhen growing upThe difference is important and helps explain exactly what you’re making with lomi. (Hint, it’s not compost.)

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Eco Express mode is the fastest and takes about 3-5 hours. You can either add the resulting dirt to your green bin or do what we do and add it to the next cycle you run with Lomi.

Romi approval: This mode covers food waste, bioplastics and Lomi Approved packaging and products. Lomi recommends using his LomiPod in this mode. This adds beneficial microbes and accelerates the bioplastic degradation process. This mode takes about 5-8 hours. The resulting stain can be thrown in a green trash can, but should not be used on plants, as it is not as microbial-rich as the Eco-Express stain.

Growth mode: This mode is for fruit and vegetable waste only. Therefore, no cooked or processed foods, no bioplastics. This mode utilizes low-grade heat to protect microbes. Lomi recommends adding his LomiPod in this mode. The advantage is that the resulting soil can be mixed with garden or houseplant soil.

What is the power consumption of Romi?

Pera Earth reports: Romi uses 0.6 to 1.0 kWh per cycleThis is a graph that provides energy usage statistics for each mode.

Lomi compost mode	average energy consumption	Waste type
growing up	1 kWh	food and organic waste
eco express	0.60kWh	food and organic waste
Romi approved	0.75kWh	food and organic waste Romi-approved bioplastic Romi Certified Products and Packages

Green or greenwashing?

Indoor composters are not without controversy. The big question is whether lomi really has a positive effect on the environment or is just a green laundry gimmick.

A major environmental benefit of composting is the reduction of food waste that ends up in landfills. The core of the skepticism is that Romi could use some force to turn food waste into dirt, denying any positive impact.

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Romi has proactively addressed this perception by utilizing a third-party service to determine if dirt on Romi is offsetting the power required to operate the device. Whether your home uses renewable energy (such as solar power) and what you do with the dirt at the end of the cycle (i.e. use it for your backyard plants, put it in the green bin, or send it to the landfill). ).

From the company’s website:

With the help of third party audits, Despite the power consumption, lomi can produce a lower net carbon footprint than the same organic waste that goes to landfill.

You can read more about See the results of these tests herebut ultimately net CO2e savings of around 100 kg to 230 CO2e per year, depending on usage patterns.

Conclusion

I use it everyday. Lomi has just completed another cycle as I sit typing this. So the bottom line for us is that this product is a big win.

does it suit you? See, ideally they don’t generate the same amount of food waste as we do. If you live in an area where you probably want to consider traditional composting options first. Lomi works well with a typical composter, but that’s not our use case. You have to decide if it’s worth the cost.

But if you live in an apartment or other small space like our boat and food waste is an issue, I would definitely recommend Romi. It will be the appliance you didn’t know you needed. Pela Earth is an environmentally conscious company and is Climate Neutral Certified. Lomi is a solid product and seems to keep working as intended for a long time.

Lomi is a great solution when you don’t have space and need to handle food waste better.

Alternatives to consider

Slightly cheaper than the Lomi, it’s a comparable product with a different form factor.

If you have the space and the waste, it’s the grandpa of a traditional outdoor composter.