Mill

Founded in 2020, Mill, a California-based company, aims to convert food waste into chicken feed on a subscription basis. Customers receive food-shrinking, deodorizing Mill kitchen bins, mail-back pathways to farms, and personalized impact tracking for a monthly subscription fee of USD 33, as of January 2023. In March 2024, the company announced the launch of a new version of their kitchen bin, which customers can buy outright for USD 999 or opt for a USD 29 monthly subscription. 

The initial version of the Mill kitchen bin transforms leftover food scraps into food grounds by drying, shrinking, and deodorizing them overnight. Customers can arrange a pickup for food grounds in the Mill app and send it back to the company once the bin is full, which usually takes a few weeks. Food grounds are then transformed into a component of chicken feed. The device consumes between 1 and 1.4 kilowatt hours of energy per day. The updated version of the bin is capable of carrying out the process and grinding food waste into compost resembling coffee grounds in 2.5 hours in contrast to its predecessor’s 10-hour processing time and can process 40lbs of waste before needing to be emptied and the company claims it is more energy efficient. Mill employs 100 people and has an R&D facility in Seattle. It is also seeking partnerships with municipal waste services.

In July 2024, Mill reported that its one-year pilot program in Tacoma was implemented across 84 households and demonstrated a separation of 10x more food scraps than the average household. Mill claimed customers could save USD 320 by downsizing garbage carts and USD 380 annually through a 20% reduction in discarded food in their municipal solid waste bins.

Key customers and partnerships

In February 2023, Mill Industries and the City of Tacoma came to an agreement to pilot a new technology based approach to reduce household food waste.