Let’s tackle food waste and protect our environment—one bin for food waste at a time. Whether you’re new to composting or have been recycling your organic waste for decades, a countertop container can make it easier to hold and sort compostable materials. This blog will be your guide to the top kitchen food waste bin options. Use the sections below to navigate through the blog.
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Using kitchen scrap containers for your organic waste can help to streamline your compost efforts. They’ll hold your food scraps and other organic materials until collection day, or when they’re ready to go into the outdoor compost bin. These bins provide an easy, stink-free, and far more sustainable alternative to sending organic waste to landfill.
Our top picks for kitchen waste bins
Does food waste go in the green bin? While, in most cases, it can go directly into the bin used for your city composting program, who wants to make multiple trips out there every day? This is where these food waste collectors come in handy.
We’ll cut to the chase and let you know that electric composters are the easiest solution for recycling organic waste. But if you’re looking for something a little more old-fashioned, here are our top picks for those, too.
- Best electric kitchen composter: Lomi Smart Composter
- Best odor-free food waste bin: ENLOY 1.3-Gallon Stainless Steel Compost Bin
- Best food waste bin under $20: Vremi Kitchen Compost Bin
- Best container to collect organic waste: BioBag Food Scrap Bucket
- Most aesthetically-pleasing waste bin: Wooden Kitchen Compost Bin
17 best bins for food waste
While a banana peel or apple core may not seem like that big of a deal, they have a serious environmental impact. Roughly one-third of household trash is composed of food waste. When it ends up in landfills, this organic material releases methane (a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide). This is why recycling organic waste, through the process of kitchen scrap composting, is so important. Here are the best tools to help you do exactly that.
1. Chef’n EcoCrock Counter Compost Bin
Combining lidded venting, a removable inner bucket, a charcoal filter, and ceramic vessel, this is a way to store organic waste in an odor free way. Tips for even more odor prevention include placing newspaper at the bottom. The ceramic outer portion can be washed by hand and the inner bucket is top-rack dishwasher safe.
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2. Lomi Smart Composter
The Lomi indoor electric composter is the only food waste container on this list that actually transforms organic waste into nutrient-rich dirt. At the touch of a button, it can break down food (including meat and dairy), paper towels, yard trimmings, leaves, and even Lomi-approved bioplastics into natural fertilizer that can be used to support indoor and outdoor plants.
At the time of writing this article, more than 100,000 global residents have turned to the Lomi for unparalleled customer service and help with recycling organic waste.
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3. ENLOY 1.3-Gallon Stainless Steel Compost Bin
Designed to control odors with an activated charcoal filter, this countertop food waste bin is a stink-free way to store food scraps—even leftovers. It’s made of high-grade, rust-resistant 430 stainless steel, which will not release dangerous chemicals into the compost. The tight lid will also keep pests at bay until your community compost program collection day or you can make it out to your compost bin.
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4. Wooden Kitchen Compost Bin
More like home decor than a container to store kitchen waste items, this bin is good for those who request a bit of elegance from their composting tools. The outer bin is made out of cherry or walnut hardwood, sourced from a historic lumber mill in Michigan. The removable, lidded stainless steel insert deters pests and locks in odors.
This is one of the most aesthetically pleasing ways to store collected food scraps until it can be composted. As an added bonus, 5% of the profits are donated to reforestation and watershed protection efforts.
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5. SimpleHuman Compost Caddy
This stylish compost caddy can be hung on the side of a trash can, then easily detached during cooking and cleaning. It has a lid that allows for airflow to reduce smells and keep fruit flies away. The inner bucket is removable for easy emptying and cleaning and the outer coating is infused with Agion, an EPA-registered antimicrobial agent. This will prevent the growth of mold, mildew, fungi, and bacteria.
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6. Gardenatomy Kitchen Compost Pail Bin
The inside of this container is made with rugged, leak proof stainless steel—that will never leach harmful chemicals into your compost. The outer copper looks great in any house and enhances the look of any kitchen countertop. It’s lidded with an airtight seal and comes with charcoal filters to keep bugs away and stop odors.
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7. iTouchless Stainless Steel Compost Bin
This food waste vessel works with AbsorbX filters to keep your kitchen smelling clean and fresh. The first one is included for free. With a tight seal, iTouchless will keep bugs and fruit flies away. It features an inner plastic lining that is BPA free and food safe. Designed to be space-saving, it comes in a sophisticated oval shape.
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8. LALASTAR Food Waste Basket
This small organic waste container is a great way to collect a day or two’s worth of food scraps (not ideal for a week of waste or large families). It’s small enough to be placed on the sink and comes lidded to keep odors away.
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9. NEW OXO Good Grips Easy-Clean Compost Bin
Bigger than many other food waste storing containers, this is one of the best kitchen scrap containers for larger households. It features a unique design that makes it easy to tuck away food waste bags. At the same time, it has a stay-open lid that helps you easily toss in scraps. It can also be removed for convenient emptying.
With additional benefits for our planet, OXO is also a contributing member of 1% For the Planet.
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10. AIRNEX Collapsible Countertop Compost Bin
This collapsible vessel can help you keep food waste out of landfills so that it can be composted instead. If you won’t have anything to toss in for a while, just fold it down and store it away. It has vent holes to work with the filter to deter unpleasant odors. Everything can be washed by hand or in the dishwasher.
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11. Full Circle Scrap Happy Food Scrap Collector
Suitable for storage in the freezer, this container provides a perfect way to collect scraps and store them in a stink-free way until your city compost collection day. It’s designed to fit well with a cutting board, making it easy to divert food waste from the landfill. It can be used with or without bags.
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12. SCD Probiotics All Seasons Indoor Composter
Making use of beneficial microbes, this indoor composter comes with Bokashi bran to quickly ferment food waste. It turns it into a compost tea that can be spread in the garden. The fermented food scraps can be added to a backyard compost heap or a curb-side composting program can collect it.
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13. Exfoil Kitchen Compost Bin
Pairing a rust-proof 201 stainless steel bin with a bamboo box, this is one good-looking way to sort food waste and keep it out of the trash. And a lot of it. The container can hold an average amount of organic waste produced during a week. Fully sealed, it will keep odors away. You can choose to line it with a bag, or use without.
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14. Norpro Grip EZ Stainless Steel Compost Keeper
Equipped with an easy-carry handle and charcoal filter, this stainless steel container is a good choice for keeping bugs and odors away. It provides a good space to store coffee grounds, egg shells, kitchen scraps, and yard trimmings until they’re collected through a curb-side composting program or deposited in an outdoor compost bin.
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15. BioBag Kitchen Counter Food Scrap Bin and Compostable Bag Kit
Ready to handle larger amounts of organic waste, this food scrap container is perfect for business use, whether for customers or employees. The breathable system allows organic materials to dry out, therefore reducing mess and odors. It’s ventilated on the sides and top and includes food waste bags.
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16. Bamboozle Food Composter Bin
Looking great atop any countertop, this bamboo vessel helps you store your organic waste in style. Not only does the bamboo look great, but it’s also durable and biodegradable. It also comes with a charcoal filter that helps to reduce odors and keep pests away.
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17. Vremi Kitchen Compost Bin
Perfect to go on top of the counter or under the sink, this small-but-mighty container can be used to collect and store organic waste. As it does, the organic activated charcoal filter will trap odors. Even better, the filter can be cleaned with soap to use for up to 6 months!
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Tips for stink-free organic waste storage
Because there is such a large range of items that can go into Lomi, it’s one of the best solutions for reducing stinky garbage and all of the greenhouse gas emissions that come with it. Regardless of which of these food waste containers you decide to bring into your kitchen, we’ve got a few tips to help you reduce odors. First, consider lining your container with a paper bag or paper towels to reduce moisture and smells. Of course, putting the bin outside or emptying it more frequently helps, too.
We all know that food waste going to landfills is a terrible thing for our planet. Far worse than just an eyesore, the millions of tons of food that end up in municipal trash release methane, take up space, waste resources, harm wildlife, and—quite frankly—stink.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. If you’ve been asking, “can you put food waste in the green bin,” the planet is thanking you. We need more people to divert food and organic waste from landfill. Lomi believes that together, we can make a really positive change (and reduce unwanted odors in our homes).
Written by: Heather Seely