One of the first questions people ask before buying a Reencle is exactly how far the accepted materials list actually stretches. Unlike a backyard pile, a worm bin, or a Bokashi bucket — each of which has real restrictions — Reencle's live microbial culture handles most of what a household kitchen actually throws away, including foods that traditional composting can't touch. Here's the complete list of what goes in, and the short, firm list of what doesn't.
What You Can Add
- Fruit and vegetable scraps — peels, cores, stems, trimmings, overripe produce, all in normal quantities
- Citrus — lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit peels, in any household quantity
- Meat and seafood — raw and cooked trimmings, fish, shellfish
- Dairy — cheese, milk, yogurt, butter, eggs
- Cooked food — rice, pasta, bread, cooked vegetables, sauces in modest amounts
- Coffee grounds and paper filters
- Paper tea bags (remove any staples first)
Meat, fish, dairy, and citrus are the standout items here — these are exactly the foods that attract pests or cause serious odor problems in an open backyard pile, which is why traditional composting guides tell you to avoid them. Reencle's sealed, temperature-managed microbial process handles them without those problems, which is the main practical reason people move from backyard composting to an electric composter in the first place.
What You Cannot Add
- Bones — of any size. They don't break down in the timeframe of a normal cycle and will still be intact at emptying time, regardless of how small they are.
- Large pits — peach, mango, avocado, and similar hard pits. Like bones, they're too dense to process on a normal cycle.
- Non-food materials — plastic, produce stickers, twist ties, metal, glass
- Yard waste — grass clippings, leaves, wood chips (Reencle is built for food waste, not garden material)
- Chemicals, cleaning products, medications, and pet waste
The bones-and-pits rule is worth remembering specifically because it's easy to get wrong: some general composting advice treats "small" bones or pits as a gray area. For Reencle, it's a firm no across the board — not a matter of size.
Daily Capacity and Emptying
- Reencle Prime: up to 700g (about 1.5 lbs) of food waste per day
- Reencle Gravity and Gravity Pro: up to 1kg (about 2.2 lbs) per day
- Emptying: roughly every 1 to 3 months, depending on household size and how close you run to daily capacity
These are sustained daily averages, not hard per-meal limits — an occasional heavier day balances out over the week.
Tips for Getting the Best Results
Cut large pieces down. Anything bigger than a couple of inches — a large chunk of cooked meat, a whole melon rind — breaks down faster and more evenly when cut smaller first.
Spread additions across the day rather than dumping everything from a big cooking session at once, so the microbial culture isn't overloaded in one pass.
Balance wet and dry. If you're adding a lot of liquid-heavy scraps (soup, melon, citrus juice runoff), balance it with drier material like bread ends or coffee grounds — similar to the wet/dry balance principle in any composting method.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put bones in a Reencle? No. Bones of any size — chicken, fish, rib, or otherwise — should not go in. They don't break down on a normal cycle and stay intact.
What about avocado or peach pits? Also no. Large, hard pits are treated the same as bones — too dense to process in a normal cycle.
Can I put moldy food in? Yes. Mold is itself a natural decomposer, and moldy scraps are a fine addition — just remove any packaging first.
Does Reencle handle meat and dairy without odor problems? Yes — that's the core difference from backyard composting. The sealed, temperature-managed microbial process is specifically what allows meat, fish, dairy, and citrus to be processed without the odor and pest issues those foods cause in an open pile.
How much can I add per day? Up to 700g/day for Prime and 1kg/day for Gravity and Gravity Pro, as a sustained average — not a strict per-day ceiling.
What if I accidentally add something I shouldn't have? A stray sticker or twist tie won't damage the unit or harm the microbial culture — it just won't break down, and you can remove it at emptying time.
The Bottom Line
Reencle's accepted-materials list is unusually wide — meat, fish, dairy, and citrus included — because the process doing the work is biological, not just physical. The exceptions are short and consistent: no bones, no large pits, no non-food materials. Get those two rules right and the rest of the list is close to "whatever came out of your kitchen today."
References
- Reencle. Product specifications and Help Center — Daily Use & Maintenance. https://reencle.co/products/reencle-food-waste-composter
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Composting at Home. https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home
