What Can You Put in a Reencle? (Complete Accepted Materials Guide)

One of the most common questions before buying a Reencle — and one that surprises most people — is how broad the accepted materials list actually is. Unlike outdoor compost piles, worm bins, or Bokashi systems that each have specific restrictions, Reencle's aerobic microbial process handles the complete household food waste stream: meat, fish, dairy, cooked food, and plant-based scraps alike.

This is the complete guide to what goes in, what needs preparation, and what to avoid.

Table of Contents

• What You Can Add Freely
• What to Add in Smaller Amounts or with Preparation
• What to Avoid
• Tips for Adding Different Food Types
• Why Reencle Handles Meat and Dairy
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What You Can Add Freely

These materials go directly into the Reencle without any preparation or quantity limits.

Vegetables and Fruits

• All vegetable scraps: peels, tops, cores, stems, leaves
• All fruit scraps: peels, cores, overripe fruit, berry tops
• Citrus peels (lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit) — fine in any quantity
• Onion and garlic skins and trimmings
• Avocado flesh (pit requires preparation — see below)
• Melon rinds, banana peels, pineapple tops

Cooked Food

• Leftover rice, pasta, bread
• Cooked vegetables and stir-fries
• Soups and stews (drain excess liquid first)
• Sauces and condiments in small amounts
• Casseroles and mixed dishes

Meat and Seafood

• Raw meat scraps and trimmings (beef, pork, chicken, lamb)
• Cooked meat leftovers
• Raw and cooked fish and shellfish
• Shrimp shells, crab shells, lobster shells
• Bones — small and medium (chicken bones, fish bones, rib bones)

Dairy

• Cheese, cheese rinds
• Expired milk and yogurt (pour in slowly, avoid flooding)
• Butter and cream
• Eggs (whole, cracked, expired)
• Eggshells

Other Kitchen Items

• Coffee grounds (loose or in paper filters)
• Tea leaves and paper tea bags (remove staples)
• Nut shells (walnut, pistachio, peanut — crush or break first)
• Bread and baked goods
• Cooking oil in small amounts
• Paper towels used for food cleanup

What to Add in Smaller Amounts or with Preparation

These items are accepted but work better with some preparation or quantity management.

Large Bones

Large, dense bones — beef femur bones, thick pork ribs, whole chicken carcasses — should be broken into smaller pieces before adding. The microbial culture processes bone material, but large pieces take significantly longer and can create hard chunks that slow down the overall batch. Crush, snap, or use kitchen shears to reduce size.

Excessive Liquid

Soups, broths, and saucy foods should have excess liquid drained off before adding. The Reencle manages moisture internally, but adding large volumes of liquid at once can temporarily raise moisture levels above the optimal range. Add saucy foods in modest amounts, or let them solidify in the fridge first.

Avocado and Mango Pits

Hard pits (avocado, mango, peach, cherry) can be added but will take much longer to break down than soft material — they may still be partially intact at harvest time. If you don't want them in your finished compost, remove them before adding. If you don't mind, they can go in and will eventually process.

Citrus in Very Large Quantities

Citrus peels are fine in normal household quantities (a few peels per day). If you're processing very large amounts — juicing several pounds of citrus at once — add over multiple sessions rather than all at once to allow the microbial balance to adjust.

Very Oily Foods

Fried foods and heavily oily waste can be added, but in moderate amounts. Very large quantities of cooking oil at once can coat the material and temporarily slow microbial activity. Add in portions spread across multiple days if you're disposing of significant oil quantities.

What to Avoid

These materials should not go into the Reencle.

Non-Food Organic Material

• Yard waste, grass clippings, leaves — the Reencle is designed for food waste, not garden material
• Wood chips, sawdust, straw

Non-Organic Materials

• Plastic packaging, twist ties, stickers (remove produce stickers before adding)
• Metal (bottle caps, foil in very large amounts)
• Glass

Specific Food Items

• Very large bone sections (beef marrow bones, thick beef leg bones) — too dense to process effectively; compost these in an outdoor pile instead
• Excessive salt — very heavily salted food in large quantities can affect microbial activity; avoid adding directly from the saltshaker, and limit very salty processed food waste in one session

Chemicals and Non-Food Items

• Cleaning products, bleach, household chemicals
• Medications
• Pet waste

Tips for Adding Different Food Types

Cut or break large items. Anything bigger than roughly 2 inches processes faster if broken down. A whole head of lettuce, a large melon rind, or a big piece of cooked meat will process eventually, but cutting into smaller pieces speeds up decomposition and reduces the chance of large chunks at harvest.

Spread additions throughout the day. Adding scraps gradually as you cook rather than dumping everything at once helps the microbial culture process efficiently without overloading at any single point.

Balance wet and dry inputs. If you're adding a lot of liquid-heavy material (soups, melon, citrus), balance with drier material (bread, coffee grounds, dry vegetable trimmings). This mimics the carbon-nitrogen balance management of outdoor composting and keeps the internal moisture at the right level.

Don't worry about small amounts of anything. The rules above apply to large quantities or consistent patterns. An occasional large bone, an unusually saucy addition, or a bit more citrus than usual won't cause problems. The system is more robust than it might seem.

Why Reencle Handles Meat and Dairy

The reason most home composting systems exclude meat and dairy is straightforward: in cold or passive composting systems, these materials produce strong odors, attract pests, and can harbor pathogens until fully decomposed.

Reencle sidesteps all three problems through its controlled aerobic environment:

Odor: the sealed unit contains any odor during processing, and aerobic decomposition produces far fewer volatile compounds than anaerobic breakdown. Meat and dairy processed aerobically don't produce the sulfurous, ammonia-heavy smells associated with rotting protein in open environments.

Pests: the sealed, temperature-managed unit provides no access point for insects or rodents.

Pathogens: the combination of aerobic microbial activity and the unit's temperature range creates conditions hostile to common food pathogens. The 30-day outdoor curing period that follows harvest provides additional assurance before the output contacts garden soil.

This is what separates a microbial composter from either a passive outdoor pile or a food dehydrator — the controlled environment allows it to process materials that other systems can't.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I put moldy food in the Reencle? Yes. Mold is itself a decomposer — moldy food scraps are actually a good addition that can accelerate breakdown. Remove any packaging before adding.

Can I put compostable packaging in the Reencle? Not recommended. Certified compostable packaging (PLA plastics, compostable bags) is designed for industrial composting conditions, not home composting environments. In a Reencle, these materials will take much longer to break down and may still be intact at harvest. Discard compostable packaging separately.

What happens if I accidentally add something I shouldn't? A small non-food item (a sticker, a twist tie) won't damage the unit or harm the microbial culture — it simply won't decompose and will be visible at harvest. Remove it then. Chemicals or large quantities of salt could affect microbial health; if you notice decreased activity after adding something unusual, add some fresh coffee grounds and let the culture recover over a few days.

Can I add food that's been in the fridge for a long time? Yes. Expired, moldy, or very old food is fine. The Reencle processes it the same way as fresh scraps — the decomposition process doesn't differentiate based on how long food has been stored.

How much can I add per day? Reencle Prime processes up to 2.2 lbs (1kg) of food waste per day. Reencle Gravity processes up to 2.8 lbs. Reencle Gravity Pro up to 3.3 lbs. These are sustained daily limits — occasional larger additions are fine as long as the average over time stays within range.