Full Circle Fresh Air Odor-Free Kitchen Compost Bin, Black and White

My husband and I have been composting for several years now, starting shortly after we bought a house and planted our first vegetable garden. And in the several years we have been gardening, this is my 3rd pail.The first pail I bought from Amazon. It was one the typical round cannisters with a lid that had holes and a filter. The lid didn't fit straight out of the box. You had to fight to get it off and then nearly pound it with a hammer to get it back on. Wasn't worth the trouble. We tried using it without the lid, but didn't care for it and eventually it was repurposed to collecting my plant scraps when I tidied up all 25 of my house plants. Works great for that. I think we tossed the lid.Second pail I bought from gardener's on recommendation from a friend. We bought a nice large oval-shaped galvanized steal pail. Lid fit great, came off easily, no filters to deal with or buy, no bags to worry about. Worked great for 2 years. The only real issue we had is, since there is just the two of use, and despiste lots of tea drinking and lots of fresh vegetables and fruit consumption, it took us around 2 weeks to fill the pail. And as I later learned, due to the lack of holes and the lid fitting snuggly, it was a perfect environment for anaerobic breakdown, which smells terrible - think rotting vomit, and is bad for compost. The terrible stench had to be dealt with every time it was emptied.Well one Sunday morning, we woke up and the contents of the pail had eaten a hole through the steal bottom and leaked brown, viscous fluid all over the cupboard under the sink. It took cleaning it up, cleaning the area twice, and spraying a tea tree oil/water mixture over the area several times for the smell to eventually disappate. It was very much "What an incredible smell you've discovered" scenario.So, not wanting to have to deal with having to replace a pail again after a few years, I did some research, found a wonderful site that listed 10 features/qualities that should be considered before purchasing a compost pail. This one easily qualified for all of them except the handle - but with using bags - isn't an issue.My husband was first opposed to the thought of having to deal with bags as it was another consumable we would have to purchase, would end up costing more than just using a pail with air holes that didn't need bags, but once I pointed out that I would be able to finally empty the compost, he was suddenly on board with the purchase. Out house is built into the side of a steep hill, so everything in the yard needs to be leveled with concrete blocks - which places the top of our Aerobin over my head - making it impossible for me to lift the lid and turn a bucket upside down while trying to keep from wearing any of the contents. With a bag I can just swing it up and in - no problems.I liked that the pail is made from recylced materials. I like the simple design. I like the simple, mild colors. I bout theh green slate one and while we keep ours under the sink as I hate things on my counter, I think it would look fine on a counter if you have the space and prefer to store one there.I LOVE the push button that opens the lid. No more having to pull off a lid, place it somewhere, and hope there is nothing on it to grunge up the counter. The design is straightforward and simple. One reviewer was correct, it is essentialy a glorified compost bag holder, but it does its job perfectly. There is a steal bar that holds the bag securely so you don't have to worry about trying to tie knots to hold the bag in place. There are air vents on the sides inside and along the bottom and and small holes peppering the top. The lid opens with a quick push of the button and closes with a reassuring click.The bags that came with the pail are very nice and a little thicker than the BioBag 3 Gallon bags I bought along with it. The company recommends changing the bags every 3-5 days due to breakdown of the bags and so I just set a reminder on my phone to take care of the compost every 5 days to keep any accidents from happening. The bag is usually full enough by then to warrant tossing.No smell. No leaks. No bugs, though it is winter and with a newer house, I rarely see a bug anyway. But the lack of smell is a delightful change. And with using a bag, everything is nicely contained and hands stay clean as well as the pail. An added bonus is that the whole thing is dishwasher safe. So when it eventually becomes grungy or a bag somehow breaks, just take the pail apart and toss in the dishwasher.I would highly recommend this pail to anyone looking for one. Ease of use and design far outweigh the miniscule hassle of having to buy compost bags and the small cost that goes with them. And with the 4 pack of the BioBag Compost Bags that Amazon sells, you only need to buy bags once a year to every 18 months depending on how often you change bags.

I really love this composter. And I never imagined I'd be spending half an hour posting a laudatory review about it on Amazon, but here we are.I have had several experiences with composting. In my childhood home, we had a large backyard and a compost pit at the end of it. We could collect food in a plastic box near the sink, and would have to dump it every day because it would breakdown, smell, etc.. We didn't use a lid on the plastic container, but I later found out that it makes little difference, or perhaps the lid makes the fermentation worst (apparently anaerobic fermentation is notorious for producing noxious smells -- of the kind that attract fruit flies). Later, I learned other methods; someone I visited in San Francisco would collect compost in a container placed in the freezer, but this is not very convenient at all (taking your receptacle in and out of the freezer), and you need a large enough freezer.All of these experiences came to mind when my apartment complex finally got curb-side compost pick-up.I am glad I went for this composter (which, yes, assumes you are either going to throw the waste in a backyard compost pit, or in a organic waste trash can -- this will not turn your food into actual compost):- The opening mechanism is really great: you press the button, and the lid pops up wide open, and then can be shut with a nice satisfying click.- The lining mechanism is great too, and ensures the collection bag is neatly tucked and not visible.- There is no smell. None.- It's not an eyesore.- For moderate cooking, you can get away with emptying this every 2 or 3 day easily.Here are a few tips:- The air circulation feature is not a silver bullet. Yes, it will prevent the build up that generally attract insects, but you still have got to use common sense. I never had trouble (during the summer, in June, July and now soon August 2016) with fruit flies, except when I was dumb and put a couple decently ripe peaches out. Both the peaches in the fruit bowl, and later their remains in the composter, brought with them a plethora of fruit flies (fortunately these BEAPCO Fruit Fly Traps expedite them in short-order -- highly recommended!). So use your brain!- Same common sense prevails with regards to bag break down. The bags they provide are useless, but it is easy enough to get a 3-pack of BioBag, which fit perfectly. These are robust, but can get pierced very easily if you throw anything acidic: for instance, a lemon will burn right through the bag. My solution is to make sure I throw these types of things either nicely in the center, or I put the lemon rind on a piece of paper towel.- If you repeatedly have trouble with the bottom falling out, I recommend lining the bottom with a paper towel (it doesn't have to be wasteful, it could be a paper towel you used for something).Overall, I am very happy I got this.