What NOT to Put in an Electric Composter: 7 Items That Can Break Your Machine

Your new electric composter has one primary job: to dehydrate and grind food scraps. The keywords are “food” and “grind.” While these machines are durable, they are not industrial wood chippers, and they are not magic.

Tossing in the wrong items can, at best, give you a poor-quality output and, at worst, jam the motor, break the blades, or create a sticky, impossible-to-clean mess.

Before you start, learn the three categories of “no-go” items.

Category 1: The Machine Breakers (Mechanical Hazards)

These are items that are simply too hard for the machine’s motor and blades. Trying to process them is like trying to put rocks in your coffee grinder.

1. Hard Bones: While some high-end models claim to handle small chicken bones, you should never put in hard, dense bones from beef, pork, or lamb. The motor will likely jam, and you risk stripping the gears or breaking a blade.
2. Hard Pits & Seeds: Think of avocado pits, peach pits, or mango seeds. These are as hard as wood and will not be ground down. They will just spin around, jam the motor, and potentially damage the unit. Small seeds (apple, citrus) are fine.
3. Shells: Oyster or clam shells are also a “no.” They are rocks. Eggshells, on the other hand, are highly encouraged as they are brittle and add calcium.

A good rule of thumb: If you can’t cut it with a kitchen knife, don’t put it in.

Category 2: The Process Messers (Chemical Hazards)

These items won’t break the machine, but they will “gum up” the high-heat drying process, leading to a poor result.

1. Large Amounts of Grease, Oil, or Butter: These liquids don’t dehydrate; they just… fry. They can saturate the carbon filter, rendering it useless (leading to smells), and turn the rest of your scraps into a greasy sludge instead of a dry powder. A little oil on leftover salad is fine; pouring in a cup of used frying oil is not.
2. Large Amounts of Sugar: Things like pure jam, expired candy, or large amounts of high-sugar sauces can caramelize under the machine’s high heat. This creates a sticky, burnt-on-sugar mess at the bottom of the bucket that is incredibly difficult to clean.
3. A “Dry” Batch: This is a common mistake. If you only put in dry, starchy things like bread, rice, or pasta, there isn’t enough moisture for the cycle to work correctly. The machine can get “gummed up” with a pasty, dense “dough.” Always balance dry items with wet items (like fruit or veggie scraps).

Category 3: The Output Contaminators

These items might pass through the machine, but they will contaminate the final “fertilizer” you want to put in your garden.

1. “Compostable” Plastics: This is the most confusing one. Unless the machine has a specific mode designed for bioplastics (like the Lomi), you should not add them. They are designed to break down in industrial compost facilities (at higher, sustained temps) or over months in soil, not in a 3-hour dehydration cycle. You’ll just get
   chopped-up bits of plastic in your soil.
2. Obvious Non-Food: Fruit stickers, rubber bands, plastic wrap, twist ties, aluminum foil. The machine will just chop them up and mix them into your “fertilizer.”

When in doubt, leave it out. Stick to food scraps, and your machine will work perfectly for years.