Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've had my Envirocycle for 3 years. I bought it from someone on Craigslist after it had been used for a year. Now, being it it's 4th year of life, I can tell you it works JUST LIKE NEW. I love it. I have a second composter (different rotating one) also, realizing early on that one was not enough, since there comes a time when you need to just stop adding to it and let it "cook". The 2-composter system works perfectly for our single-family composting needs. I use the compost in my flower beds, vegetable gardens, on my fruit trees, and around as many shrubs and plants as it will cover. I used to buy and use Miracle Grow, but honestly, this works just as well. Really, my plants LOVE compost and thrive with it. It's FREE and reduces the amount of trash we take out. The envirocycle is great for several reasons: - It rotates on it's own base, so you don't need to turn it w/ a pitchfork or anything. - It's large enough on the inside to hold plenty of composting material. I rarely fill it completely. - The base will fill with liquid, or "composting tea" that I use to water my potted plants, a unique feature of compost bins. - It's easy to rotate, using the grooves around the bin. My son has been turning it by himself for the last 3 years, and he just turned 11. My other "Tumbleweed" composter he has more trouble with. - It's easy to access, as far as the height goes. If I want to reach in and break up clumps of decayed whole fruit that occasionally gets tossed in, it's easy to reach. But here's the biggest reason I'm writing this review: I emailed the company a couple weeks ago because somehow, the cap to the bottom portion has become lost and now the "tea" spills out when it gets full. I offered to buy another cap if they could send me one. They replied the same day, saying they would send it at no charge. Today, I rec'd TWO free replacement caps in the mail from Enviorcycle Systems in Canada. I live in So. California. THAT'S customer service. Just another plus, but really, the composter is totally worth it. Even on Craigslist, I paid half of what it's selling for today - used. I could probably even sell mine today for what I paid for it since it works exactly the same as it did the day I bought it (but of course, I wouldn't). It is that well made. I've looked for them several times since, but they are not easy to find used. There are others that don't rotate, require hand turning of the contents, and don't have the base for tea, but the Envirocycle is hard to find on Craigslist. I'm thinking of helping my son bring composting to his elementary school and have been trying to decide which type of composter would work best - This one would be great. The kids could rotate it themselves and it's low enough they could watch the magic of decomposition happen and learn from it. I would definitely recommend this composter to anyone wanting to compost in their yards. It keeps the contents enclosed, aerated, and easily accessible. I love mine! UPDATE: May 2014 - Going on SIX YEARS w/ this baby and still loving it! It's kinda amazing how composting has completely become a way of life for us now. We never throw away anything that grew from the earth in our house (as long as it's still in orig. form - we don't compost salad w/ dressing, etc). It is NO trouble at all. Seriously, everyone should at least try it. I was surprised at how easy it became habit. Now, I have the system down to where I can't even remember the last time I had a smelly bin. I keep a trash can full of dried grass/leaves (I mow them together) next to the envirocycle and throw in a few handfuls w/ each dumping of kitchen scraps/green. Rotate 3-4 times. Done. Add water in hot summer mos. now and then. Easy. And after just spending a fortune on a variety of bagged compost for my newly-planted raised vegetable beds (only bc I didn't have enough of my own ready), I appreciate my homemade compost even more. It's not only free, but you can just tell when you hold it how much better it is! So soft, squishable, and I know everything that went into it. Best part is my son (at 14 yrs) has now grown up w/ this, so to him, composting is normal. Hopefully we are raising a generation of green kids who understand a bit more about the earth than I did as a child :) UPDATE #2 At 7 years, I'm still using my composted daily...AND...their customer service has been as good as Day One. I emailed Envirocycle a week ago because the door was coming off occasionally (not sure why, it just became too loose over the past few months). Today, I rec'd a brand new door. Completely FREE. They are about the best example of True Customer Service I've ever seen. BEST, BEST, BEST purchase I've made for my garden EVER. Thank you Envirocycle!