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The Best Compost Bins That Make Reducing Food Waste Effortless (Even Fun!)
Whether you have a tiny space or a rambling yard, there’s a bin here for you.
If you want to make an easy, eco-friendly change to your life, composting is a great place to start. Compost is a gardener's best friend because once the biobased food scraps decompose, it essentially becomes a soil multivitamin that helps produce strong, healthy plants. There are a ton of benefits to composting — and according to Emilly Barbosa Fernandes, a small-space gardener and House Grail consultant, it also “reduces your carbon footprint, enriches the soil, suppresses plant diseases and pests, and reduces methane emissions from landfills.” This green initiative is easier than you think and will do wonders for your yard (and the planet, of course), but first, you’ll need to invest in a compost bin to store your food scraps.
Once your compost bin has done its job, the final destination of your compost can be your own backyard, a community drop-off center, or even a municipal pick-up program. This guide will give you the info you need to decide on the best compost bin for your household's needs.
The Best Compost Bins
What to Consider
Once you've determined where your compost will be going, you'll have a better idea of what type of bin you'll need. You can either set up a freestanding outdoor bin or an indoor bin filled with live worms (yes, really) that can break down organic matter. However, if you're setting aside food scraps for drop-off purposes, there are smaller countertop or freezer bins available that will not make compost but will help you keep the scraps out of the way.
An outdoor compost bin is a bit more of a project, but it can easily become integrated into your regular yard work. And when done properly, it'll produce piles of nutrient-rich compost for free — no storebought fertilizer necessary!
As it turns out, how you compost is important as well. Erinn Witz of Seeds and Spades explains that outdoor compost needs a balance of both “green” and “brown” material. “Green materials, like kitchen scraps and fresh grass clippings, are rich in nitrogen, while brown materials, such as paper products and aged fallen leaves, are high in carbon. When the balance is off, your compost can dry out and basically do nothing, or it can become wet, stinky, and an overall a gross mess.” Also, keep in mind that you’ll want to cover and insulate your outdoor compost in cold or wet weather — otherwise, the balance of the material will be disrupted.
Finally, while we love to see companies making an effort to design waste-free products and packaging, any bags, utensils, or accessories that look like plastic but are labeled “compostable” should not be put in an indoor or outdoor compost bin. Fernandes says, “If the packaging says biodegradable or oxo-degradable, it doesn’t mean that it’s compostable ... Most compostable products aren’t meant to be used in yard composting, so your best bet is not to use them at all.” These products may be able to be composted in an industrial-grade facility, so check with the brand for disposal directions.
How We Tested
We thoroughly researched all of the compost bins in this guide to bring you a curated selection for a range of household needs and setups. We've also had the opportunity to test a couple of these products as well, integrating the bins into our homes over several months to either hold or compost our kitchen scraps. All of the bins have been evaluated based on their size, ease of use, and special features that they offer. We also consider the drawbacks that may make certain designs a little difficult for everyday use, depending on your needs or space constraints. For another option, consider the Reencle Home Composter we reviewed throughout the beginning of 2023.
Read on to learn more about the best compost bins for turning your organic scraps into a nutrient-dense garden superfood.
FCMP Outdoor IM4000 Dual Chamber Tumbling Composter
FCMP Outdoor IM4000 Dual Chamber Tumbling Composter
- Bin capacity: 37 gallons
If you're ready to start making your own compost in your outdoor space at home, this is the best compost bin to get. This 3-foot-tall tumbling composter is equipped with two separate chambers, so you can have fresh compost at the ready on one side while adding new scraps to the other.
To use, add the proper mix of green and brown material to the bin, and give it five or six turns every 3 days. The container will absorb heat from the sun, helping the material break down naturally. This compost bin is also great because it's shielded from the elements and elevated to keep it away from pests. Reviewers of all experience levels love how accessible it makes home composting.
More: These Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products Leave Out the Mystery Ingredients
Full Circle Scrap Happy Food Scrap Collector and Freezer Compost Bin
Full Circle Scrap Happy Food Scrap Collector and Freezer Compost Bin
- Bin capacity: ½ gallon
This compost bin is made of flexible silicone and is the perfect size to fit right into your freezer door. Freezing your food scraps is a great way to keep your organic matter from decomposing (and starting to smell or attract fruit flies) before it gets dropped off or picked up by a composting organization.
I pop this bin in and out of my freezer door to use as a receptacle for organic scraps while I cook. It can be used with or without a liner bag — I choose to line it, although users who don't do so say that the bin is simple to hand-wash or clean in the dishwasher.
As a solo dweller, I rarely exceed the ½-gallon capacity of one bin per week. But if you cook for a large household, you may need multiple bins, which will up more space on your freezer door.
GEOBIN Expandable Outdoor Compost Bin
GEOBIN Expandable Outdoor Compost Bin
- Bin capacity: 216 gallons
If your yard gets a lot of leaves in the fall, and there's no easy way to get rid of them, it's time to get yourself a Geobin. This expandable outdoor compost bin is one of the budget-friendliest — and also one of the biggest — you can buy.
This outdoor compost bin is comprised of plastic sheets that you link together to form a bin that's up to 4 feet wide, but some DIY-savvy reviewers have even linked several of these sheets together to form enormous home composting bins. It's also important to layer your organic material correctly so your compost is the ideal spongey consistency (and doesn't stink up your yard).
It's up to you whether you want to mix the contents of this bin on a regular basis to produce compost quicker — you can do this using a pitchfork or shovel, according to many reviewers.
Mixing is arduous work, but you'll be rewarded with mountains of fresh, hot compost in just a few weeks. Otherwise, you can compost slowly by adding organic matter when it's available and not mixing it, letting it gradually decompose in the bin over the course of several months.
Just note that this bin doesn't come with a cover. Some users suggest covering it with a tarp if you're expecting heavy rain.
Biovessel Living Composter
Biovessel Living Composter
- Bin dimensions (LxWxH): 17.7x 8.7x6.5 inches
While some of these compost bins use motion, aeration, and good old sunlight to create the ideal environment to break down organic matter into compost, a vermicomposting bin uses, you guessed it, worms.
Our tester Kayla Ramsey tried out this design-y, biomorphic worm house. To use, you need to fill it with a composting worm mix, place it in a sunny, warm place and start adding your food scraps. According to the brand, fruit and vegetable peelings, grain foods, and tea bags are best. However, our tester advises not to add coffee grounds.
Just in case you worry about things getting funky, this is also one of the best odorless compost bins you can buy. Kayla says, “Rather than sitting around and rotting before turning into the soil, the Biovessel’s reliance on worms ensures they break down food into tiny pieces and disperse the nutrients throughout the layers of soil before rancid fermentation can even begin.”
The lightphobic worms can process over 2 pounds of food waste per week, and as long you keep the pod in the right conditions and remove the fresh compost on a regular basis, you, your worms, and your plants will be happy.
OXO Good Grips Easy-Clean Compost Bin
OXO Good Grips Easy-Clean Compost Bin
- Bin capacity: 1.75 gallons
Countertop compost bins, like this OXO model, are a convenient spot to dispose of your kitchen scraps as you're cooking. But they aren't meant for long-term storage. As you can probably guess, the decomposing food will start to smell and attract bugs if you leave it out for too long.
The best way to use this compost bin, reviewers say, is as a receptacle for scraps for 2 or 3 days max before transferring to an outdoor compost bin or drop-off station. There are no carbon filters to replace or bags to buy (although you can line it with a bag if it makes transfer and cleanup easier for you), so it's also a budget-friendly solution as well.
The lid closes securely with no gaps, and its sleek, understated build doesn’t scream “compost bin” when displayed on your countertop.
Melanie Yates is the senior service editor of Best Products, where she writes and reports pieces pertaining to the etiquette, dilemmas, and how-tos of gift-giving for different occasions. Previously, she was the site's senior home editor, covering all things decor- and bedding-related since 2015. Her digital byline can also be found on Bustle, House Beautiful, and Elle Decor. A longtime classical-music enthusiast, Melanie spends her off-hours enjoying performances big and small across New York City.
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