T3 - UK (2021-07)

MORE GREAT

WASTE-

REDUCERS

MIND THE SCRAPS

22 T 3 JULY 2021

Horizon

Living

REDUCE WASTE AND

HELP YOUR GARDEN GROW

Now you can have anindustrial recycling plant on yourcountertop

Sage has long made some damn fine

food preparation equipment. Now it is

completing the natural cycle, with a food

waste recycling machine. The FoodCycler

(£399.95, sageappliances.com) is a

mechanised composting device that dries

food waste, then grinds into ‘EcoChips’.

These are, sadly, not chips that you can

eat – imagine how delicious that would be!

No, they are intended for easy and

muck-free recycling, or use in your garden.

Designed to sit in a spare space in your

kitchen, garage or laundry room, the

FoodCycler looks not unlike one of Sage’s

ice cream makers – although don’t get

them mixed up, or your day will be well

and truly ruined. Compared to most

countertop bins it’s on the large side,

but then on the other hand, compared

to an industrial waste processing factory,

it’s very small.

All you have to do is put your daily

food scraps into its internal bin and seal

the lid to keep odours in. Once enough

has built up, you can commence the

EcoChip-making process. All this involves

from your point of view is pressing one

button. This sets the FoodCycler off on

a three-stage process.

First, the waste is dehydrated. This is a

low-energy process but the heat involved

is enough to sterilise leftover food scraps

• even meat and fish. Then a powerful

grinder reduces the waste to about 2 0%

of its original volume, producing

something that looks, to be fair, rather

more like the contents of your vacuum

cleaner than ‘chips’ as such. These low-

odour chips can then be put in your

council food recycling bins, or spread on

your garden.

This is the real genius of FoodCycler.

While you can break down all this kind of

waste on a compost heap, the results can

be very unpleasant indeed, particularly if

you include meat and fish leftovers.

FoodCycler saves you from horrendous

smells, dangerous bacteria and the

likelihood of attracting vermin.

In the UK as it stands, we throw away

6.6 million tonnes of food waste per year.

This is, apparently, enough to fill 66

three-bedroom houses. Just contemplate

that for a moment: an entire housing

estate full of rotting meat and fish.

The FoodCycler is surprisingly quiet in

operation. The main food bucket is also

dishwasher proof – it’s porcelain-coated

aluminium – which is quite a relief. Energy

use is fairly low; equivalent to boiling a

kettle about once every hour. Obviously,

it’s not the speediest process, but you

don’t have to do anything other than press

one button and walk away, and it’s sure as

hell quicker than leaving food waste to rot

on a compost heap.

JOSEPH JOSEPH

TITAN COMPACTOR

A great

solution for

anyone who

hates taking

the recycling

out too often,

this 30-litre

bin can take

90 litres of

trash. How?

A clever, fold-

down internal

bin and lid

lets you crush

down rubbish as you go,

without tearing the bin liner.

£ 179 ,josephjoseph.com

ZWILLING FRESH &

SAVE

We love this vacuum-pack

food preserving range. Justput

yourleftovers, ingredients,

dried goods or whatever into

glass or plastic tubs, then

let the USB-charged electric

vacuumpump work its magic.

From £ 79. 95 ,

uk.zwilling-shop.com

ZUMA

Why buy a wireless speaker

and a Hue-style LED smart

light, when you can buy a

Zuma and get both in one?

Everything is crammed into a

unit that can replace a single

ceiling spotlight. e results

are truly impressive for both

sound and visuals.

£ 375 , zuma.ai

IMAGE

SOU

RCE:

SAGE

IMAGE

SOU

RCE:

ZUMA

IMAGE

SOU

RCE:

ZWIL

LING

IMAGE

SOU

RCE:

JOSEPH

JOS

EPH