The best compost bin 2022: turn waste into garden gold

Create your own compost at home with the best compost bin and you can deal with kitchen and garden waste and improve your soil. It’s win-win

Best compost bin
(Image credit: Future)

The best compost bin will allow you to make your own soil improver right there in the garden. Of course, it’s true that you can put your garden and kitchen waste out for your local authority to take away, but how much better to use it to make compost yourself – and it’s so simple to do.

The benefits? Compost will improve your garden’s soil, plus making your own ensures your waste doesn’t have be transported from your home, so it’s an environmentally friendly move. What’s more, it’s a task you can achieve in all but the very tiniest of gardens.

So which are the best compost bins you can buy? Read on to discover our great selection. And if you’re after other essentials for a lovely plot, check out our best lawn mower guide for more great buying advice. 

The best compost bin 2022

Why you can trust Gardeningetc Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Vounot compost bin from Amazon

(Image credit: Amazon)

1. Vounot Compost Bin

Best compost bin: neat design with a door to remove fresh compost easily

Specifications

Best for: Ease of use
Capacity: 300 ltr
Material: Polypropylene
Dimensions: H80 x W58 x D58cm

Reasons to buy

+
Weatherproof
+
UV resistant
+
Door
+
Creates high heat
+
Click assembly

Reasons to avoid

-
Not the prettiest design

This 300 ltr capacity compost bin is easy to install as it’s a click-together design.

Recyled recycler

Although it’s made from plastic, this bin may appeal to your green conscience as the material is recycled. It’s weatherproof, of course, and UV resistant, too.

Heat up

It’s designed to develop high heat inside which helps make good compost more quickly.

Open house

This design has a door in the base which makes getting fresh compost out to put on to the soil easy.

  • Buy the Vounot Compost Bin

Forest Garden compost bin from Wickes

(Image credit: Wickes)

2. Forest Wooden Garden Compost Bin

Best wooden compost bin: a slatted model will blend in located at the bottom of the garden

Specifications

Best for: Hiding in plain sight
Capacity: 400 ltr
Material: Softwood
Dimensions : H61 x D99 x W99cm

Reasons to buy

+
Large capacity
+
Natural appearance
+
Slot-together design

Reasons to avoid

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Slower composting

If you want a compost bin that will blend in, this could be the design for you because it’s made from wood.

Made to last

The softwood used for this compost bin has been pressure treated so it’s protected against rot and fungal decay for 15 years.

Subtle addition

If you aren’t a fan of plastic compost bins, this is a discreet alternative, so long as you don’t mind slower results.

Easy build

It comes as a flat pack, but the boards slot together to make it up, and it doesn’t take long to do.

  • Buy the Forest Wooden Garden Compost Bin

compost bin from Wayfair

(Image credit: Wayfair)

3. Wayfair Compost Bin

Best worm compost bin: just add wrigglers to this design for nutrient-rich compost

Specifications

Best for: Getting composting help
Capacity: Not stated
Material: High-density polyethylene plastic
Dimensions: H60 x W42 x D42cm

Reasons to buy

+
Produces great compost
+
Easy to use
+
Good-looking bin

Reasons to avoid

-
Won’t deal with all your garden waste

Like the idea of getting worms on the job? This compost bin is ready to welcome these hard workers.

Worm compost

You will need to add worms to this design, along with your organic waste. The worms can then be left to get on with their task.

On tap

You can drain off the liquid fertiliser you’ll get from this bin through the tap. Easy-peasy.

Kitchen waste

This design works well on your kitchen plus some of your garden waste, but you’ll likely want an ordinary compost bin as well to deal with woody and tough material.  

  • Buy the Wayfair Compost Bin

Ecomax composter from B&Q

(Image credit: B&Q)

4. B&Q Ward Ecomax Composter

Best budget compost bin: easy on the credit card, this design is all you need for home composting

Specifications

Best for: Saving
Capacity: 220 ltr
Material: Plastic
Dimensions: H86 x Dia. 53cm

Reasons to buy

+
Stackable
+
UK manufactured
+
Made using recycled materials

Reasons to avoid

-
Plain look

This design won’t take up too much space but it will deal with both kitchen and garden waste.

Greener choice

OK, it’s black, but you know what we mean. This bin is made from plastic but from recycled materials.

Easy access

A built-in door means it won’t be a struggle to get compost out and on to the soil once it’s ready.

Stacks up

It’s designed to stack on top of another composter, so you can make more without taking up extra room on the ground.

  • Buy the B&Q Ward Ecomax Composter

Envirocycle compost bin from Amazon

(Image credit: Amazon)

5. Envirocycle Composter

Best high end compost bin: made to stay on show in hot pink or black

Specifications

Best for: Grabbing attention
Capacity : 133 ltr
Material : Plastic
Dimensions: H70.4 x W64.5 x D54.6cm

Reasons to buy

+
Tumbler design
+
Choice of colours
+
Makes solid compost and liquid fertiliser

Reasons to avoid

-
Blow the budget choice

This tumbler bin will create both solid compost and liquid fertiliser, too, if you want.

Innovative design

This model calls itself the most beautiful composter in the world, and while our research is extensive, we can’t claim to have seen everything in order to make that call. What we can say it that it’s a neat design.

Solid or not

The system has a tumbler drum with a compost tea maker base. In other words, the drum will make solid compost while you can get nutrient-rich liquid fertiliser from the base as well. 

Eye catcher

Hot pink? It would certainly grab attention, but you can go for more conventional black if you prefer a quieter finish.

  • Buy the Envirocycle Composter

Toomax compost bin from Argos

(Image credit: Argos)

6. Toomax Garden Composter

Best compost bin for small to medium gardens: get set up with a weather-resistant model

Specifications

Best for: Modest spaces
Capacity: 260 ltr
Material: Polypropylene
Dimensions: H73 x W60 x D60cm

Reasons to buy

+
Made from recycled polypropylene
+
Fits into a corner

Reasons to avoid

-
Functional look

This practical design won’t bust your budget and will sit unobtrusively in a shady part of your plot.

Just enough

A 260 ltr capacity makes this design ideal for small to medium gardens, turning leaves and grass together with kitchen waste into useful compost.

No base

This design doesn’t require a base, and siting it on the earth will permit drainage and aeration and create access to soil organisms.

Eco option

Like some of our others picks, this compost bin is made from recycled material – in this case polypropylene.

  • Buy the Toomax Garden Composter

How to choose the best compost bin

Compost is good for your garden, and composting at home makes dealing with waste easy, but which bin you select will depend on how much garden waste you’ll create, the room you have to accommodate your bin and, as ever, what you can spend.

Material

Choose between plastic and wood. A plastic design is usually better for a small to medium-sized garden because of its shape, and there’s a choice of capacities of plastic bin. Many are made from recycled materials.

Base

Site your compost bin on bare soil if you can. If the only place you can put it is on paving, you might want to get yourself a base to improve ventilation and drainage, or opt for a design that’s made for use on a solid surface.

Bin capacity

For compost newbies, a bin of 200 to 300 litre capacity can be a good starting point, but take into account whether you have a lawn and the amount of planting as you may require less capacity. Big garden owners will likely want to size up from there.

Very small garden? A wormery compost bin could be a good solution.

Head over to our guide on how to compost for more expert advice. 

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Sarah Warwick
Freelance writer

Sarah is a freelance journalist and editor writing for websites, national newspapers, and magazines. She’s spent most of her journalistic career specialising in homes and gardens and loves investigating the benefits, costs and practicalities of home improvement. It's no big surprise that she likes to put what she writes about into practice, and is a serial house revamper.