These bins make it easy to compost year-round in your home
These days, many homeowners are trying to reduce food waste and get the most out of their food budget. Composting is an excellent way to use food scraps in your home and feed your lawn and plants at the same time.
If you have limited outdoor space, don’t have a yard or live in a climate that doesn’t allow for outdoor composting year-round, an indoor compost bin makes it easy to create compost without making a mess. These are the best bins you can find to turn your food scraps and other waste into nutrient-rich soil for your plants.
Composting 101
You’ve probably heard that composting is an easy step you can take at home to reduce food waste, but that doesn’t mean you understand how it works. Composting involves breaking down kitchen scraps, grass clippings, leaves and other organic materials with bacteria and naturally occurring microorganisms, forming a material similar to soil that you can use in your garden. The main benefit of composting is that it lets you recycle materials that might otherwise wind up in a landfill.
By composting at home, you can reduce your home’s waste by up to 25%. That lessens the garbage that winds up at the local dump and can also reduce air emissions from plants that burn trash.
But there are other benefits to composting you can see in your own home. The compost material you create replenishes the soil in your yard or container garden with nutrients your plants can easily use. As a result, you’ll notice improved growth and health in your plants, which, in turn, helps with improving air quality and soil conservation in your yard.
Many people have a compost bin or pile outside their home, where it’s easy to collect leaves and lawn clippings in addition to food scraps. However, you can’t compost year-round in many areas because bacteria and microorganisms can’t successfully break down organic materials in temperatures below 40 degrees.
An indoor compost bin allows you to compost all year because the temperature inside your home will remain between 40 and 80 degrees, which is the optimal range for composting. You don’t have to worry about shielding your bin from sunlight or heavy rain as you would outside, either.
To successfully use your indoor bin, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with the food scraps that work well for composting. Fruit and vegetable scraps are ideal, but you can also add egg, peanut and nut shells and coffee grounds. Non-food materials you may want to compost include newspaper, other non-glossy paper and cardboard. Don’t compost cooked foods, meat, bones, dairy products, oil or plastic-coated items.
Best indoor compost bins
Utopia Kitchen Compost Bin for Kitchen Countertop
This smart-looking compost bin features charcoal filters that trap and absorb odors, so you don’t have to worry about foul smells in your kitchen. It is also easy to clean with soapy water and comes in several finishes, including silver, white, bronze and copper.
This plastic compost bin has a stay-open lid that makes it easy to toss in fruit and veggie scraps while cooking. It also has a unique design that keeps the bag neatly tucked inside and a smooth interior for easy cleaning.
Chef’n EcoCrock Counter Compost Bin
This easy-to-use compost bin is available in ceramic, plastic or stainless steel. It has a removable, dishwasher-safe inner liner bucket and comes with two replaceable charcoal filters to reduce odor. The design blends in with most decor styles, too.
Granrosi Farmhouse Kitchen Compost Bin
Offering the ideal blend of form and function, this farmhouse-style compost bin makes it easy to recycle food scraps while looking great on your counter. It also has a built-in charcoal filter and two replacement filters to help fight odors.
Red Factor Compost Bin for Kitchen Countertop
With a stylish design that includes a dome-shaped lid, this compost bin blends well with most kitchen decor. It has dual filters to reduce odors, works well in both high and low temperatures and closes tightly to prevent insects and other pests from getting inside.
Made by a trusted brand in the trash disposal field, this compost bin allows airflow from all sides for more effective composting. It is large enough to hold several days’ worth of scraps, has a built-in compartment for compost bags and comes with a carbon filter to reduce odors.
This convenient compost bin mounts to the side of your trash can with magnets, maximizing space in your kitchen. Its soft-seal lid reduces odors by allowing your food scraps to breathe, and the antimicrobial exterior prevents the growth of bacteria, mold, mildew and fungi.
Worth checking out
- A Norpro Ceramic Compost Keeper has a 1-gallon capacity that’s perfect for a large household.
- The user-friendly Vitamix FoodCycler automatically turns food scraps into compost in four to eight hours.
- Banish foul odors from your food waste with the well-ventilated Joseph Joseph Compo 4 Easy-Fill Compost Bin.
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