The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission. Why trust us?

9 best kitchen bins that you won’t mind having on show

These are the most stylish kitchen bins to dispose of your food waste

Pete Wise
Wednesday 14 June 2023 06:18 EDT
We tested these waste-storage solutions over several days, checking how easy they were to use, empty and replace bags
We tested these waste-storage solutions over several days, checking how easy they were to use, empty and replace bags (The Independent)
Our Top Picks

Selecting the best kitchen bin for you isn’t as easy as you might think. When it comes to style, it may be important for you that it slots neatly into your kitchen. It’s also important to think about size, shape and where you’ll store it. Similarly, it pays to consider whether the design of the bin suits how you sort your waste at home.

The design of kitchen bins has evolved to meet the growing need for eco-friendly sorting. Alongside single-compartment bins, which are still great for collecting specific types of waste, we now have multi-compartment or interlocking bins for separating things out. These provide neat ways to organise waste in a logical, uniform system. Even in a lively kitchen, it’s good to have your waste tidy.

Some kitchen bins are now meeting the demand for reduced physical contact with sensor- or voice-activated lids. Of course, there are still plenty of bins that use the classic opening methods we’re all familiar with: push flaps, pedals and touch-operated mechanisms. You’ll open your bin often, so choose an opening method that suits you.

How we tested

The kitchen bins featured in this review were tested in our reviewer’s kitchen over several days. The bins were used in everyday ways: for collecting waste (and recycling where relevant), and being opened, closed, cleaned, emptied and fitted with bin bags. Sometimes, we used the bins while cooking, to test their suitability for busier moments. We were looking for ease of use, style and efficient storage.

The best kitchen bins for 2023 are:

  • Best kitchen bin overall – Eko deluxe phantom kitchen bin: £189.99, Amazon.co.uk
  • Best high tech kitchen bin– Simplehuman ST2015 58l dual compartment rectangular sensor bin: £299.95, Amazon.co.uk
  • Best eco-friendly option – Orthex smartstore collect 48l white with lid: £43, Johnlewis.com
  • Best compost caddy – Simplehuman CW1645 4l compost caddy: £49.95, Amazon.co.uk

Eko deluxe phantom kitchen bin

1 EKO Deluxe Phantom Kitchen Bin.jpg
  • Best: Kitchen bin overall
  • Opening: Sensor, button
  • Capacity: 20l + 20l
  • Materials: Stainless steel, plastic inner bucket
  • Colour: Silver
  • Dimensions: H66cm x W27cm x D46cm

Efficient, easy to use and featuring a silky smooth motion-sensor lid opening, this bin is the pinnacle of contemporary kitchen bin design.

We found this bin an absolute joy to use during testing. The two colour-coded waste buckets inside the bin are easy to remove, empty and keep clean. And better still, the outside of the bin is made with fingerprint-resistant stainless steel. The bin’s opening sensor is highly responsive, opening the lid flaps for five-second intervals. If you need the lid to be open for longer, you can simply use the manual open and close buttons built into the lid.

The only households where this bin might not fit so well are those with lots of people because the buckets can fill quite quickly on days when you’re going through a lot of waste.

Back to top

Brabantia bo touch bin

2 Brabantia Bo Touch Bin.jpg
  • Best: Style
  • Opening: Touch
  • Capacity: 34l (11l + 23l)
  • Materials: Mineral-coated plastic
  • Colours: Red, white, gold, platinum, black, steel, grey, green, beige, blue, brown
  • Dimensions: L31.2cm x W54cm x H68cm

We’d be chuffed to have this chic bin out on display in our kitchens.

Part of what helps the bo touch stand out (and, indeed, to stand) is its four-legged design. We think the legs look great, but it’s worth considering that they do give the bin a fairly low capacity relative to its footprint.

The boxy design of the bo touch fits nicely into a variety of spaces. Every detail feels well executed, from the glossy finish on the body of the bin to the satisfyingly smooth action of the lid closure.

With two compartments, this version of the bo touch is ideal for separating different types of waste – for example, organic food waste and non-recyclables for landfill. There are lots of alternative colours and configurations available via the shopping link.

Back to top

Simplehuman ST2015 58l dual compartment rectangular sensor bin

3 Simplehuman ST2015 Dual Compartment Rectangular Sensor Bin.jpg
  • Best: High-tech kitchen bin
  • Opening: Sensor, voice
  • Capacity: 58l (34l + 24l)
  • Materials: Stainless steel
  • Colours: Silver
  • Dimensions: L33cm x W56.4cm x H63.5cm

Other kitchen bins dream of growing up to be a simplehuman ST2015 sensor bin.

This remarkably high-tech, two-compartment bin opens and closes via voice command and motion sensing. Using the bin is a superlatively smooth experience. Even when your hands are full, you can open the lid with a two-word command.

There’s much else that’s clever about this bin. We were particularly impressed with the in-built binbag pocket, which you can use to dispense new bin bags into the waste section of the bin.

The ST2015 is arguably better (and costlier) than a kitchen bin needs to be, but if you’re looking for the best quality product you can get, this bin would be our recommendation.

Back to top

Eko morandi touch 30l

4 EKO Morandi Touch Bin 30L.jpg
  • Best: Reasonably priced kitchen bin
  • Opening: Touch
  • Capacity: 30l
  • Materials: Plastic
  • Colour: Blue, grey
  • Dimensions: H57cm x W21cm x D33cm

Friendly, functional and expertly designed, the Eko morandi touch is an excellent kitchen bin that won’t break the bank.

It’s available in two colours and three sizes, this bin is designed to interlock with other bins of the same type to help you separate types of waste and recyclables. It with a sheet of stickers for plastic, paper, glass, etc that you can use to label your morandi touch.

We found this bin to be exceptionally pleasant to use. The touch opening mechanism is smooth to the point of balletic, while the waste buckets are easy to take apart and wipe clean.

Back to top

Simplehuman CW1810 30l round kitchen pedal bin

5 Simplehuman CW1810 30L kitchen bin.jpg
  • Best: Pedal-operated bin
  • Opening: Pedal
  • Capacity: 30l
  • Materials: Stainless steel
  • Colours: Silver
  • Dimensions: L38.4cm x W31.5cm x H65cm

Stylish and straightforward, the CW1810 is ideal for households who cherish high quality.

This bin has the best pedal opening mechanism we’ve come across, combining high responsiveness to pressure with whisper-quiet soft closing. The wide, circular aperture of the bin is perfectly sized to accommodate whatever household waste you can throw at it, and its 30l capacity means the bin should go for plenty of time without requiring emptying, at least for small or medium-sized households.

Another plus point is cleanliness: made with fingerprint-resistant metal, the CW1810 was still looking immaculate after several days of testing in our kitchen.

Back to top

Wesco pushboy junior kitchen bin

6 Wesco Pushboy Junior Mint.jpg
  • Best: Retro-style kitchen bin
  • Opening: Push
  • Capacity: 22l
  • Materials: Sheet steel, stainless steel, galvanised metal
  • Colours: White, red, silver, lime green, almond, mint, pink, black, cool grey
  • Dimensions: H63cm x W36.5cm x D36.5cmcm (approx.)

Bins don’t get more beautiful than this. Born of Wesco’s 100-plus years of expertise in making household items from sheet metal, the pushboy junior is perfect in form and classic in style. It looks like the sort of bin The B-52s might have had in the Love Shack.

The 22l bin comprises two parts: an inner bucket that holds the waste and an outer shell that sits on top. The outer shell has handles on the sides, which can be used to lift it off without leaving messy fingermarks on the powder-coated body of the shell.

One thing to bear in mind about classic push bins like this one is that during use, one of your hands will be occupied with pushing the flap, which can make it tricky to do messy tasks like scraping food waste into the bin. For this reason, we recommend this type of bin for people who need a solution for recycling or non-organic general waste.

Back to top

Orthex smartStore collect 48l white with lid

7 Orthex SmartStore Collect.jpg
  • Best: Eco-friendly option
  • Opening: Manual lid
  • Capacity: 48l
  • Materials: Recycled plastic
  • Colours: White
  • Dimensions: D34cm x W34cm x H58.5cm

Simple, user-friendly design is the order of the day with this kitchen bin. The smartstore collect is one of the most space-efficient bins we’ve tested, providing ample room for all sorts of kitchen waste or recycling within its roughly-cuboidal bucket. But arguably the best feature is the bin’s light-coloured birch lid, which adds a lovely slice of natural material to the kitchen. On top of all that, the smartstore collect is one of the most eco-friendly bins we’ve encountered, with a bucket made entirely of recycled plastic.

If you do buy this bin, take care to buy well-fitting bags. The lid’s design doesn’t provide many ways to tuck away untidy bin liner excess. We found the bin was easiest to use by totally removing the lid during meal prep and other busy times, and then putting it back in place afterwards.

Back to top

Songmics stainless steel 30l step on rubbish bin

8 Songmics Stainless Steel 30L Bin.jpg
  • Best: For blending in
  • Opening: Pedal
  • Capacity: 30l
  • Materials: Stainless steel
  • Colours: Smoky grey, black, silver, white
  • Dimensions: H63cm x W35cm x D23.8cm

This smoky-grey kitchen bin from Songmics makes a smart, subtle addition to the kitchen. Where some bin designs stand out, this one blends in, with soft edges and muted colours.

We found that this bin’s tall profile means efficient storage relative to its footprint. Just bear in mind that it might be too tall to keep underneath a worktop.

Opening the bin with the pedal mechanism is a cinch. This makes it an ideal solution for people who prefer not to touch their bin lid and don’t wish to buy a sensor- or voice-activated alternative.

Back to top

Simplehuman CW1645 4l compost caddy

10 Simplehuman Compost Caddy.jpg
  • Best: Compost caddy
  • Opening: Manual lid
  • Capacity: 4l
  • Materials: Stainless steel
  • Colours: Silver
  • Dimensions: W24.5cm x D14.5cm x H21.6cm

The simplehuman compost caddy may be disarmingly cute, but it’s also seriously useful.

This tiny 4l bin is designed to store organic waste, ready for composting. It can be used either as a standalone bin – in which case you can use it on a worktop or elevate it off the floor with a stool – or as a clip-on companion to certain other bins from the simplehuman range.

We were particularly impressed with how this caddy connects to the simplehuman ST2015 rectangular sensor bin. Using a plastic dock at the rear of the caddy, we clipped it snugly onto the larger waste/recycling bin.

However it’s used, the compost caddy does a great job of storing organic waste and keeping the smells of composting matter under control.

Back to top

The verdict: Kitchen bins

Combining sleek, contemporary style with a fantastically user-friendly, sensor-activated lid, the Eko deluxe phantom is our very favourite kitchen bin. Sure, it’s an investment, but this bin could make it easier to sort your waste and recycling for many years to come. 

For more home favourites, read our round-up of the best juicers for squeezing in your five a day

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in