Best compost bin: Quality composters for every home and garden
Looking to flex those green fingers? Turn your waste into nutrient-rich soil with these top compost bins
Making your own compost from garden and kitchen waste is not only rewarding, but a great way to up your gardening game. Buying a composter is the first step you’ll need to take, so making sure you pick the best composter for your lifestyle, budget and horticultural aspirations is crucial.
If you’re still on the fence about composting, you don’t need to suddenly jump in at the deep end. Collecting suitable food scraps and adding them periodically to a small starter bin in the garden is a great way to cut down on waste while experimenting with composting. For the more green-fingered among us, having a bigger compost bin can knock your gardening into a higher gear. Using your homemade compost to supplement store-bought soil, or even replace it entirely, can save you a lot of money, and your plants will appreciate the high-quality nutrients.
Whether you’re planning to start composting for the first time or looking to upgrade your current kit, our guide to the best compost bins available will help you get composting like a pro.
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Best compost bins: At a glance
- Best wormery compost bin | Wormcomposter WormBox
- Best affordable compost bin | Ward Ecomax Composter
- Best hot-composter compost bin | HotBin Compost Bin Mk 2
- Best wooden compost bin | Forest Garden Beehive Composter
- Best large-capacity option | Deuba Black Garden Composter
- Best rotating compost bin | Lifetime Compost Tumbler
How to choose the best compost bin for you
How do compost bins work?
Making your own compost can really be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. If you’re keen to start using a little homemade compost in your garden, or feel like you could do more with your fruit and veg scraps, adding a simple composter to your garden is all the equipment you need to get going.
It’s worth doing some research into how to get the most out of your compost bin though, as there is a knack to it. To produce good-quality compost, you need to ensure you feed your compost bin with both “green” material, such as garden clippings and kitchen waste, and “brown” material, like shredded cardboard or newspaper scraps. To keep outdoor bins free of rodents, kitchen waste should generally not include any dairy or meat products.
Compost bins are always fed from the top, with the usable compost found right at the bottom of the pile. It’s important to remember to turn your compost regularly with a spade or garden fork, to aerate the mix. Too much water or not enough can also lead to problems, with the best compost kept damp but never drowned.
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What different types of compost bin are available?
With composting rising in popularity over the last few years, the number of types of compost bin has skyrocketed. And while traditionalists would say you can produce great compost with just a pile of scraps and clippings in the corner of your garden, the more advanced models of compost bin available today are truly impressive and make composting a lot easier.
In our roundup of the best composters, we’ve included a wide range of bins. These include simple wooden models for the more casual composter, rotating compost bins that remove the need to manually mix your compost, and even hot compost bins, which produce compost in record time thanks to the high temperatures reached in the mix.
You may even want to get involved in “vermicomposting” using a worm compost bin. Here, worms break down your kitchen waste to produce both incredibly high-quality compost and worm compost tea. If you’re unfamiliar with worm tea, it’s made from soaking worm manure in hot water and is described by many as the “liquid gold” fertiliser.
Whatever style of composting takes your fancy, we’ve found top picks in every category.
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The best compost bins to buy in 2022
1. Forest Garden Beehive Composter: The best wooden compost bin for the garden
Price: £150 | Buy now from B&Q
For those looking for a large outdoor composter but wanting to steer clear of the more common plastic bin models, this wooden compost bin is a real find. With a 250-litre capacity, it’s perfect for anyone hoping to turn lots of kitchen and garden waste into compost.
While the elegant beehive shape of this composter makes it an attractive addition to any garden, it also scores big on practicality. The arched roof lifts easily so you can tip in any waste, and a hatch at the bottom makes it a cinch to retrieve your mature, ready-to-use compost.
Made from pressure-treated softwood, this compost bin is also well protected against any rot or decay and comes with a 15-year guarantee. It arrives flat packed, so will need to be assembled before you can start filling it, but once up and running, it should serve you well for years to come.
Key specs – Dimensions (LWH): 75.3 x 74 x 85.5cm; Capacity: 250 litres; Suitable for: Outdoor use; Material: Pressure treated timber
2. Ward Ecomax Composter: The best affordable compost bin
Price: £30 | Buy now from B&Q
Getting started with composting doesn’t have to cost the earth. This affordable composter from B&Q doesn’t sacrifice quality for its small price tag, and with a decent 220-litre capacity, it will happily help a mid-sized household turn kitchen and garden waste into great compost in no time.
The snug lid and durable plastic body make this sturdy model strong enough to stand up to the elements and ensure that birds and rodents won’t have easy access. The dark colour of the bin also ensures it attracts heat more effectively and speeds up the composting process. It doesn’t come with any fancy features, but a simple hatch at the bottom makes retrieving compost quick and easy.
Key specs – Dimensions (LWH): 53 x 73 x 86cm; Capacity: 220 litres; Suitable for: Outdoor use; Material: Recycled plastic
3. HotBin Compost Bin Mk 2: The best hot compost bin
Price: £320 | Buy now from Amazon
Investing in a HotBin composter is a great move for anyone wanting to take composting seriously. These composters reward effort, persistence and a willingness to learn how to use them with brilliant compost that can be produced in record time.
While building temperature is key for any outdoor compost bin, these innovative models help to raise the heat to the optimum level for compost development. The fully enclosed and well-insulated body even comes fitted with a thermometer, so you can make sure your compost is breaking down in ideal conditions.
The clever design also removes the need for turning, as air can flow freely through the bottom. More impressively still, a tap at the bottom lets you drain liquid from the compost – the perfect liquid fertiliser.
One thing to bear in mind is that the HotBin composter does require you to do your homework before you start, and requires a little more day-to-day maintenance than other compost bins. To ensure the optimum conditions are met and maintained, it’s important to feed the compost regularly with kitchen scraps and garden waste, as well as with shredded paper or cardboard and a bulking agent (either wood chips or HotBins’ own bulking mix).
Key specs – Dimensions (LWH): 62 x 55 x 114cm; Capacity: 200 litres; Suitable for: Outdoor use; Material: Plastic
4. Deuba Black Garden Composter: The best large-capacity compost bin
Price: £83 | Buy now from Amazon
For anyone planning to generate enough compost to keep a big garden well-fed, a large compost bin can be a great investment. This 1,200-litre composter from Deuba isn’t the most elegant-looking model, but its huge, three-chambered design takes a large amount of gardening and kitchen waste.
Made from heavy-duty plastic, it’s hard-wearing and weatherproof. The black colour will also absorb the sun’s heat easily, speeding up the composting process, producing high-quality compost for your garden.
A flap at the top for adding waste and a hatch at the bottom to release new compost make it fuss-free and easy to use. It does need to be assembled once it arrives, which can be fiddly, but once it’s up and running, it should last for years.
Key specs – Dimensions (LWH): 198 x 72 x 83cm; Capacity: 1,200 litres; Suitable for: Outdoor use; Material: Plastic
5. Wormcomposter WormBox: The best worm compost bin
Price: From £60 | Buy now from recyWorm
While you’d be forgiven for not loving the idea of inviting worms into your kitchen, enlisting the help of some wiggly friends is hugely rewarding. This wormery produces high-quality compost for your garden, with worms able to work their way up through the trays to continually break down the newest kitchen scraps. The “vermicompost” is then gathered from the bottom. A small plug also allows you to collect the liquid, or “compost tea”, giving you some fantastic liquid fertiliser that your garden will love.
As well as producing high-quality compost, the WormBox wormery scores big across the board on practicality and aesthetics. Its clever stacking design lets you add or remove trays from the wormery depending on how much kitchen waste you’re producing, and you can even add a planter tray to the top for a final flourish.
It can be wheeled around the house as required on the strong castor wheels that come as standard and comes in a range of fun, bright colours (as well as black and grey). We love the idea of adding different coloured trays as you expand your wormery to make it truly eye-catching. You can choose to add some worms to your order too, or simply source your own. For peace of mind, the WormBox comes with a 15-year warranty.
Key specs – Dimensions (LWH): 47 x 47 x 54cm; Capacity: 56 litres; Suitable for: Indoor use; Material: Plastic
6. Lifetime Compost Tumbler: The best rotating compost bin
Price: £219 | Buy now from ZedHouses
Investing in a rotating compost bin will make your garden the envy of anyone still turning their compost heap with a fork. These clever bins make sure garden and kitchen waste is aerated properly, helping it break down much quicker than in static models.
Not only does it look great and produce high-quality compost, this rotating composer is also really easy to use. You can lock the drum into place, so it won’t budge while you open the large lid, and double insulated walls also help the black plastic retain as much heat as possible. Give it a good roll every couple of days to turn the mixture, and you’ll have ready-to-use compost in no time.
This model isn’t the cheapest, but still looks and feels more premium than the price would suggest. You’ll have to put it together yourself – and be prepared to set aside a few hours to do so – but you’ll end up with a brilliant bit of kit that will leave you wondering how you ever did without.
Key specs – Dimensions (LWH): 116 x 19.6 x 57.9cm; Capacity: 189 litres; Suitable for: Outdoor use; Material: Plastic
