Customer Reviews

Envirocycle Composter Green

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I did a fair amount of website research and looking over product reviews, and one website claimed that the Enviro-Cycle was by far getting the most favorable reviews. I bought from Amazon, and I love this product, but I have only had it for about 2 weeks.
It says that it can only handle being 3/4 full, but I am near capacity already, and it is still spinning without difficulty (a little heavy, but works well). I also like the large capacity compost tea collector. It comes with no assembly required and you just have to remove the outer plugs to allow the tea to drain. It looks much better in my yard than the previous compost pile that was there. I live in DE so I do not know how it will do in a prolonged winter season, but it seems to be perfectly usable here.
The Enviro-cycle has a decent 7 cubic foot capacity which will take most of my yard clippings and daily food compost easily. I have a only a quarter acre lot, and still I could not use this composter alone for grass clippings. It has a fairly large opening up top and is easy to fill and fairly easy to empty if you don't overstuff it.
My main concern with compost has always been that as you are making nice rich compost, you are also adding new substrate. Because of this I like the concept of a double composter, but the ones I saw on-line were a little unsightly. I will therefore be buying another one of these so I can add compost to one bin for a few weeks, and then keep spinning it to make if all rich, while I fill the second one for the next few weeks. The composter is about 3 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide. In the end the two composters will cost me close to the price of most double composters and even less then many single composters.
Before I bought the second one, however, I had to make sure that it acceptable to my wife. In the end, she was pleased with this one. So much so, that I will be purchasing another one shortly.

If you want a composter that doesn't take a huge amount of space and looks pretty good in your garden this is it. It's easy to turn the barrel and its design lets you roll it over to the area that you need to use it. Moreover, you can make compost tea with the solution that drains into the bottom tray/tank. Its the most reasonably priced rotating composter I've found. Those stationary units you have to aerate yourself just don't cut it for me.

This composter has been excellent. It is great for easy access & smells. It rolls through the yard for helpful work after the compost is ready to be emptied. The only draw back I've found is turning it just isn't enough, you need to open it up sometimes & mix up & seperate its contents during the composting progress for better production.

I looked long and hard for a composter. One of my personal restrictions was size as I have a very small area in which to make my compost and it is on cement, not dirt. - I live in a condo.


After the looking and looking for a period of about a year I found and and bought the Envirocycle Tumbler for myself at home and one for my work place. Let me say I couldn't be more pleased with both. It takes up so little space yet produces BEAUTIFUL compost in short order- just as it promised. I use mine for kitchen scraps as well as plant waste. All break down nicely and only some of the larger pieces are sifted out and need longer to turn into a mature compost. I do live in Southern California so extreme cold is not a problem, however in my internet searches of blogs etc. I have seen quite a few of these in pretty cold climates. They either use them in covered areas, a garage or basements in the winter. This unit is very easy to move - even when full. All you need to do is roll it off it's base then on to it's destination. There were other insulating methods used but since I didn't need that I did read further.

This composter also has the SUPER COOL added benefit of collecting compost tea which for any gardener is a MAJOR BONUS. This was one factor that contributed a great deal in my decision to buy this product. Another reviewer had theirs leak - unfortunate. (wonder if the cap was on tight enough?) I have not had (or read about) any problems with leakage, which is not to say it doesn't happen. - I'm just saying, I know of, or own 6 of these units and I have read post of countless others- I remember no leaking mentioned. Now not everyone collects the tea (although I can't comprehend why one wouldn't) - if you don't want to collect the tea you simply leave the plugs (that come installed) in the unit. This keeps the bottom of the unit sealed. Done! no tea- no leaking. One thing I did do after the first year or so is elevate the unit on some cinder blocks. I found that by doing this I can harvest the tea more easily and there is no need to remove the drum to pour the content of the reservoir. As an added bonus it's easier to turn a little higher.

[...]

I now have 2 of these and as I said really couldn't be happier. You can buy two of these units for less than most any other 2 compartment tumblers. I think these are made of Recycled Plastic? -not positive, but thy ARE recyclable at the end of their life span- another factor that helped in my initial decision.
I've had my first Envirocycle Tumbler for at least 2 years now and it shows very little wear or signs of aging. The one we have at work does show some signs of aging but it has been left in full sun all day, everyday - all year (not the best idea).

Additionally, I later found information on this company and have since had dealings with them and they are REALLY, REALLY GREAT. The drum for my second unit that I purchased was warped. I didn't even notice until I filled it and tried to turn it. By that time I'd had the unit for 4 or 5 months (or more) as I was re-doing the garden are and had not set it up yet. I contacted the company (through the seller)and they replace the faulty drum immediately- no questions asked. I did not have to go through hoops or return the old one. They just sent me a new drum at no cost to me. The only thing they asked of me was to recycle the old drum- I now use the old drum to store compost as I empty my units if I don't need it right away so I can free them up to start a new batches! They seem to truly believe in doing good for the planet. [...]

Note that in my research I was also looking for one for work that did not have the size restrictions. We since have acquired (gifted) another larger unit we also use at work but the Envirocycle remains in full production along side that one.

I recommend this product to anyone who composts or wants to start- seasoned or newbies
That's not garbage that's food for my plants!
Thank you Envirocycle!

This compost tumbler does a great job of turning your kitchen scraps into rich compost, however, there is one big problem. After the first complete cycle the latch that holds the lid in place started coming loose and has not worked properly ever since. When the tumbler reaches the bottom of a turn, the lid falls off and spills the decaying material all over the ground. Its messy and difficult to clean up. I have tried making a latch replacement myself with modest success. It is clear that the maker of this product has decided not to solve the problem, since reviewers here and on other sites have mentioned it and nothing has been done. An excellent product with a fatal flaw. Unless you are prepared to deal with the mess, avoid purchasing The Envirocycle Composter.

I got this as a mother's day gift a year ago. Yes I ask for strange things. It doesn't take up much room and is easy to use. We used the compost this year for our spring planting and it really made a difference in our soil. The flowers in the compost dirt are taller than in the non-compost dirt. And I feel we are reducing the amount of trash in the environment. It did take a little longer to "cook" than I thought it would but over all I am happy with it. I got another one this year so we could alternate filling and letting it "cook." Thanks for an easy to use product.

This composter is easy to setup and get started but it does have a few minor design flaws. The door does not have a quality latch to ensure it stays closed and the door rubs on the bottom when you spin it making it stick a little bit and get scratched up. Even on a condo patio the commandos don't complain because it looks nice compared to a pile of leaves and manure. Truth be told, they haven't a clue what it is.

I thought this composter was a great idea for urban composting. I was wrong. It was small and compact, but I couldn't rotate it because it leaked immediately! It was on a patio, not the ground, so leaky smelly compost tea was a bad idea. It was so messy that I couldn't even move it to the grass to let it spill out. It would have been fine if it were actually on the ground (and therefore, didn't matter if it leaked).

I was excited when I bought this composter but quickly became dissatisfied. The tumbler is not big enough to create 'heat' to decompose. The opening is not big enough to get a shovel in to get compost out. It is ver difficult to turn when 1/2 full. If you keep adding compost the older stuff never gets to decompose as new is constantly added. Two bins are necessary. I hate this composter and would like to get my money back from the company

It is definitely a stand out. Cleverly designed, clean in function, blends nicely in green color. Remains to be seen how fast you get the compost. Logically, you would need two because I do not think the content degrades quickly, especially in the winter. So far I like it.