Vitamix FC-50 – Convenient Home Food Processor and Recycler – Kitchen Countertop Compost Bin Alternative – Electric Waste Disposer – Odorless Garbage Disposal – 2.5L Capacity
Original price was: $199.99.$189.00Current price is: $189.00.
Price: $199.99 - $189.00
(as of Sep 26, 2025 14:08:01 UTC – Details)
The FoodCycler FC-50 is a compact food recycler that reduces food waste and eliminates food scrap odors, making it ideal for indoor use. The new carbon filter lid reduces odors, so you can store your scraps until the bucket is full without worrying about offensive smells. And quieter cycles mean you can run it multiple times a day, year round.
EFFICIENT WASTE REDUCTION: Converts food waste into nutrient-rich soil amendment in just hours, perfect for eco-conscious households.
ADVANCED ODOR CONTROL: Powerful carbon filter lid minimizes odors during the recycling process, ensuring a fresh kitchen environment.
WHISPER-QUIET OPERATION: Enjoy quiet cycles that integrate seamlessly into your daily routine without disruption.
CONVENIENT DESIGN: Unit can be placed in the kitchen or storage area, while the Portable Bucket can be placed near the food prep area. Unit Dimensions: (H) 14.2” X (W) 11” X (D) 12.6.
USER-FRIENDLY INTERFACE: One-touch start and intuitive progress indicators with 3 phase LEDs for simple operation by all users.
Customers say
Customers find the food processor works well and consider it a true workhorse, noting it’s surprisingly quiet with noise levels comparable to a dishwasher. The product effectively eliminates odors and makes great compost starter/fertilizer for yards and gardens, while being easier to use than manual composting. While some customers consider it well worth the money, others feel it’s not worth hundreds of dollars.
8 reviews for Vitamix FC-50 – Convenient Home Food Processor and Recycler – Kitchen Countertop Compost Bin Alternative – Electric Waste Disposer – Odorless Garbage Disposal – 2.5L Capacity
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Original price was: $199.99.$189.00Current price is: $189.00.
K. Romer –
No Smelly Mess or Fruit Flies
I love this. It has helped eliminate the fruit flies in my indoor worm bin. I love how everything comes out dry and ground up and not smelly, making feeding my indoor and outdoor worm bins easy. I no longer have a smelly mess to deal with from a container of scraps sitting on my counter that I then have to clean out. It also has resolved problems of the worms bins getting too wet.I like that I no longer have to cook eggshells in the microwave and then grind them up, now I just throw them in the FC-50. Also, there is NO smell! Lastly, the price was excellent and you get Vitamix quality. This is just perfect for my DH and I; however, if you are a bigger household, you may need to buy a larger size, or just run it more often. One last thing, you can run shredded paper in it along with your scraps. I put a thin layer of shredded paper in the bin and when it is almost full of food scraps, I add another thin layer. This helps with excess moisture and helps compost paper scraps.
Francie C –
Very impressed!
To say that Iâm impressed with this product would be an understatement. Iâve had it for just over a week and have used it every day.Iâve used a variety of food waste including coffee grounds, leftover meat scraps, citrus, vegetables, eggshells, bread / bagels, fruit, even some leftover cat food. It has worked wonderfully to âcompostâ all of it.I live in a rural area – yesâ¦skunk, opossum, raccoon, fox, and bear. So, having a traditional outdoor compost setup just wonât work out. We have weekly garbage pick up but I was looking for a way to reduce some of that. Granted, itâs just my husband and me but I do a lot of cooking and 99% of the items I use are fresh and not processed / premade foods.I will say that the food âbucketâ that you use for your scraps is on the small side so if you prepare your meals, as I do, with a lot of fresh ingredients and you have a family of four or more, you might not be as thrilled. On the occasions that I have more than I can process at a time I can run 2 cycles a day or just keep the scraps in a ziplock win the fridge until the next day.There is no foul odor. The filters do what theyâre supposed to. The lid for the bucket works to contain odor as I fill it up during the day. Canât even smell the onions or other strong odors as it sits on my counter.Once the composting is done, I dump it into a plastic bucket that I keep outdoors and when that gets full I will dispose of it on our property. There is no smell to it so it wonât attract any critters.Some folks have commented in their reviews that itâs noisy, foul smelling, it leaves a goopy / sludgy mess, or that it takes too long. Itâs not loud, it doesnât smell, you have to use common sense as far as what you put in to process, and who cares how long it takes. Itâs not like you have to sit there and keep it company.The bucket has some type of lining / coating thatâs almost like a nonstick surface. Cleaning it is a breeze. I simply wash it out by hand though it is dishwasher safe. The unit is a bit heavy to move around, though not impossible, so find a place that will be convenient so you donât have to relocate it often. It isnât huge but does take up counter space so find a location that works for you.My only negative is that though Vitamix has been around for many years, and certainly is a reputable company, the FoodCycler is made in China. Not happy about that.Overall, the unit is robust and well made. It is easy to use and works very well.
Smile Saurus –
Amazing Results – I Love It!
I was saving eggshells & grinding them down (in my coffee grinder) to add to my garden’s soil. I was also saving used coffee grounds, ‘drying’ them in the oven, to add to my garden, too. Both jobs were messy and time consuming. I’ve also saved veggie scraps to make vegetable broth – also time consuming and the scraps hog a lot of space in our freezer. I wanted an outdoor composter to put in the yard, but my husband was concerned about rats and so he vetoed that idea. So when I recently read about this countertop composter in Kiplinger magazine, I was sold.The UnitThere were a LOT of stickers to remove from the unit. I had a hard time especially with the stickers that were on top of the tube things at the back of the machine. Since I could not figure out how to remove the tubes (in order to fully remove the stickers) there are still some pieces of sticker at the back of each tube but they don’t cover the ‘hole’ so I think it’s fine.When putting together the unit, I didn’t understand how the caps were supposed to set on the tubes. Then I realized that the tubes emit steam, so it only made sense that the ‘open’ end of the caps face me / face the back panel since the back panel has vents once you pop it back on. When the machine was running, you could feel ‘some’ heat coming out of the back but I don’t think it was enough to peel wallpaper. So this would probably be safe to place relatively close to a wall.The power cord is THREE pronged. We have a two-pronged outlet where I was planning on plugging this composter in, so I had to use an adapter, and it was a tight fit.What I Put InsideTwo bell pepper caps & bottoms, about a half of a white onion, about two cups of ground-up eggshells, some celery stalks & leaves, and about two cups of used coffee grounds. I did fill the bucket just a bit more than I should have, but not by much.How It WorkedAfter turning it on, the machine ran for a total of seven hours from start to finish without me having to do anything. The first cycle (‘drying’) took an hour and a half. Then it automatically switched to the next cycle (‘grinding’ mode) which lasted the longest amount of time – about four and a half hours. Then the machine put itself in the final mode (‘cooling’) which I’m guessing was around an hour (I had noted the start time of the cycle but then I got busy, and an hour later when I checked it, it had turned into to ‘standby’ mode which meant that the process was complete). So it might have only had to cool for a half hour, or for forty-five minutes, I’m not sure.PerformanceThe machine was whisper-quiet. I had it running in the kitchen, and from the next room over I could barely hear it. It doesn’t get overly hot / put out a lot of steam from the vents in the back. The surface of the machine does not get hot.The ResultsI am amazed! The slightly-overfull bucket full of moist veggies, soggy coffee grounds and some eggshells magically turned into garden-ready compost! It was fluffy and bone dry. I transferred the compost to a gallon-size freezer bag, and it filled the bag only about 1/4 of the way.ThoughtsWe get snowy winters where we live, but I can still use this year-round. I have a 5-gallon bucket with a lid and I think I’ll ‘stockpile’ the compost in there until Spring each year. I can’t believe how easy this machine is to use, and what wonderful results it produces.
WillGrant –
We’ve had this nice little appliance for 6 weeks and can now, confidently, say that it’s well worth it. I got it on sale for $299 which made it much more attractive than the more expensive “other brand”. I also prefer the cubic shape because it slides into spaces nicely.The inner bucket is 2L. I worried that it would be too small but I think that I like that because I really wouldn’t want moist, organic waste sitting around very long. That said, there are days when I do have to run it twice. Outside of those days, every other day is the norm. Extra bucket, would be nice but not for $100. I just use a bowl until I can get the bucket back.Suitable foods – we put veg and fruit scraps, rice, breads, egg shells. The odd bit of cheese ends up in there too. I will rough chop banana peels and avocado seeds. Fibrous things tend to get stuck between the paddles and inner bucket wall. Onion peels do not seem to break down so I will use scissors to cut them up going forward.It is a fairly long cycle, so we try to keep to off peak hours or weekends.With regards to smell, there can be a bit of an earthy/funky smell but it’s not smelly like bad food. If the weather is not bad, I will put it out in the gazebo. On bad weather days, I put it on top of the stove with the rangehood fan on.It is easy to use – fill the bucket, line up the arrow on the bucket with the arrow on the unit, tuck the handle down, put the lid on, lock it and press the button.Output – after 6 weeks, we have about 3L of output and our green bin is about 1/3 full by garbage day which comes around every week. It’s mostly cat litter and meat bones.
Jeremy L. –
To start off, it is pricy but a necessity for those who want to help reduce your environmental footprint. I have a large yard and had tried composing for years, but have gotten tired of turning compost and dealing with the pests that inevitably and chew through the composter or tear it apart.Yes the hopper is on the small side⦠but I read that in other reviews yet still purchased. It would be ideal if it was twice the size.It is very quiet. I have mine in the garage but if you want such an appliance on your counter youâll barely hear it.What it produces is definitely not compost but much closer than slimy smelly food scraps. The processed material is nice and dry and stores easily in a bucket till itâs time to work into the garden.
A. F. –
Overall, I’d buy it again because of the price point, no nonsense operation and the fact that Vitamix doesn’t pretend to make finished compost like other products in its class.Pros:1) Can grind most kitchen waste. I tested up to chicken bones and it works fine.2) Short cycle (~4hr.) I leave it over night and it’s ready in the morning.3) Removable bucket means you don’t need to sacrifice any counter space.4) No need to wash it at all if it doesn’t make a huge mess and gets hopelessly stuck (see cons below)5) No nonsense approach to machine operation. One button to start. Autostop when lid opens. No apps, no AI, no so called “smart” features. Load it up, press a button and off it goes to work.Cons:1) It does get gunked up when adding starchy or sugary waste. The heat melts it all together and the hardened mass is no match for the grinder. If that happens, expect to soak it for a few days before it can move again.2) Another pet peeve is the thin metal bucket handle gets stuck under the plastic rim and at times difficult to get the bucket out when the cycle is finished (my fingers are far from huge.)
Meghan Johnstone –
First note is I am in a condo (but lots of potted plants) so I don’t have access to a proper compost, but with this item so far so good! It’s basically a food dehydrator mixed with a blender. You don’t get “soil” out of it but you get dehydrated bits of what you put in, which is good too. It’s too early to say if my plants get anything from it but I have enjoyed recycling kitchen/garden scraps to mix with potting soil. Super quiet , about the size of a microwave, easy to use, no smell. If you have a proper compost or no potted plants, don’t bother with this item. Otherwise, it’s worth a try if you want to produce your own compost. I was especially glad to use my eggshells (trying to eat less meat so I’m eating more eggs for protein). Can’t wait to see what this tech develops into. *Minor update that it’s still working and I LOVE putting weeds etc into it because I paid for the nutrients and soil and I now get to put it back.
Patric Charbonneau –
Can you be in love with an appliance? What a game changer! No more fruit flies and maggots! I put mine in my garage because of its size (and my limited counter space) and also for the smells during operation that some might not like. It gives a nice dry compost that smells very good. I give my compost to a friend who has a garden and he really appreciates!