Mill Compost Bin
Reducing food waste
Americans send about 66.2 million tons of food waste to landfills annually. Once buried under garbage, food waste can’t get oxygen to break down properly. Instead, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Rotting food makes up 58% of all landfill methane.
Many Sun Devils have joined the Office Compost Program to reduce these negative environmental impacts. Now they have a new tool.
Meet the Mill bin
The Mill bin is a cleaner, more efficient compost bin that quickly turns food scraps into easily compostable soil in hours without unsavory smells, gnats or mold. Mill bins are being tested in select rooms in the Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health, the Biodesign Institute and the University Services Building. While the bin can process food scraps like small bones, like chicken or fish bones, and avocado pits, it cannot handle these items:
- Large bones, like beef, lamb or pork bones
- Liquids
- Non-food items
- Packaging
Each bin provides up to 6.5 liters of nutrient-rich compost for local farms to nourish community crops. Additionally, Mill bins only need to be serviced monthly, whereas the regular green bins need to be serviced weekly.
Mill's impact at ASU
Since August 2025, Mill bins have diverted over 600 pounds of ASU’s food scraps from landfills and will divert more as the program expands. Adopting this technology helps ASU reduce landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions and advance a circular food system.
ASU employees also receive a $200 discount on a bin for their homes using the promo code ASUMill200.