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You already know that composting is eco-friendly, but you may be underestimating just how beneficial it is — for example, did you know that all it would take to offset an average U.S. household’s annual electricity use is eight households composting? The biggest benefits of composting at home will especially seem like a no-brainer to gardeners who can use the compost as a natural fertilizer to help their plants thrive. But if you’ve been wondering how to compost when you don’t have outdoor space, look no further than an electric composter.

This gadget is exactly what it sounds like: a kitchen appliance that takes food waste and turns it into compost. They range from countertop-compact small to trash-can-sized large, and while traditional composting takes around four to six months, electric composters can get the job done in days or even hours depending on the product. They’re just as simple to use as normal compost pails. All you have to do is drop in waste like these compost ingredients you likely already have at home, press a button, and wait for your electric composter to do its thing. When the finished product is ready, just grab it from the drawer at the base of the appliance. Whether that finished product is actually compost, however, is another story.

If you’ve been wondering if you should invest in a kitchen countertop composter, consider whether you’re getting one that actually does what it says it does. Composting works via microorganisms breaking down organic material. Electric composters break down food waste, but some of them do so by chopping it up and dehydrating it, which isn’t technically “compost” since it doesn’t use microorganisms.

Some “composters” work by drying out food waste at a high heat, which actually kills the bacteria that’s responsible for the composting process, leaving you with a dried crumble of less nutrient-rich material. It’s not totally useless as fertilizer, but you’ll be missing out on some of the biggest benefits of actual compost, like better soil moisture retention and improved aeration. Appliances that create real compost do so with lower heat levels, moisture, air, and bacteria. Look for product descriptions that mention “real compost” and use microbes in the process, like the Reencle Prime 14L electric composter or the larger GEME 19L electric composter. If a product refers to itself as a “food recycler” or “compost alternative” and dances around using the word “compost” to describe its output, you’re most likely not looking at the real deal.