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Best Compost Bins
A compost bin - whether it’s a compost tumbler, a kitchen compost bin, or a worm composter - will help you improve your home’s soil and divert waste from landfill. Different compost bins have different features and suit different kinds of homes and lifestyles - here’s what you need to know. Continue reading...
Best Compost Bin
Easier to maintain than a worm farm, the Bokashi One Bucket ferments your food waste and produces a nutrient-rich fertiliser that can be used in your garden.
- Ease of Use4.9 (8)
- Build Quality4.9 (8)
- Value for Money4.8 (8)
- TypeBokashi
- Colour / FinishBlack, White, Tan
- Construction MaterialPlastic
- Dimensions 410 x 310 x 300 mm
With a large opening and doors that let you easily add food waste and collect your compost and a durable, UV-protected barrel, the Maze 245L 2 Compartment Compost Tumbler can let you easily compost for years to come.
Price (RRP) $269.00
- Ease of Use3.5 (2)
- Build Quality4.0 (2)
- Value for Money3.5 (2)
- TypeTumbler
- Colour / FinishBlack
- Dimensions 1130 x 1050 x 710 mm
The Urban Composter Starter Kit has everything you need to start composting in your home or apartment, including a bucket, compost accelerator, and a composting spray.
Price (RRP) $75.00
- Ease of Use5.0 (2)
- Build Quality5.0 (2)
- Value for Money5.0 (2)
- TypeTumbler
- Colour / FinishBerry, Black, Chilli, Lime, Natural
- Construction MaterialPlastic
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Should I compost?
Some of the benefits of home composting include:
- It provides nutrience to your home’s soil. Adding compost to the plants, gardens, and yards around your home enriches them and enables them to better retain moisture and keep diseases at bay.
- It can replace chemical fertilisers. Adding your compost to your garden can eliminate the need to use chemical fertiliser - that’s one less thing to keep buying.
- It’s beneficial to the environment. It cuts down methane emissions, reduces your personal contribution to landfill, and lowers your carbon footprint.
- It’s versatile. You can get composters to suit all kinds of homes and living situations. Different bins suit different environments, so you can have it outside, in your garage, or even in your kitchen.
Types of composters
Outdoor stationary composters
A stationary composter is what most people are familiar with when they think of compost bins. They’re bins that you add food waste and compostable materials to, and they generally have a lid that prevents pests from getting inside. After a certain amount of time, the waste turns into soil which you can then remove to use as fertiliser.
Pros
Cons
Compost tumblers · See All
A tumbler compost bin is a rotating compost bin that you spin by cranking a lever. These composters have one or more chambers that you fill and then close off until the batch has matured. You can then use this “cooked” compost in your garden.
Pros
Cons
Worm composters · See All
A worm composting bin, or vermicomposter, has several layers, and worms inside the composter eat their way up the food scraps. This means that your compost, ready for use, ends up in the bottom layer.
Pros
Cons
Bokashi · See All
Developed in Japan, the bokashi system involves anaerobically fermenting food waste. While it isn’t technically composting, it still produces a nutrient-rich fertiliser that can be used in your garden. A Bokashi bucket can be placed under your sink or on a benchtop.
Pros
Cons
Benchtop compost bins · See All
A benchtop compost bin is a stationary composter that can be placed on your kitchen counter or a similar surface.
Pros
Cons
What to consider when choosing a composter
Size and capacity
You should already have a spot for your composter in mind before you buy to ensure that it’ll properly fit, whether you plan on having it in your yard, balcony, or indoors.
The larger the composter, the more expensive it will be and the harder it will be to move. However, you’ll have a higher capacity that allows you to make compost, so if you generally have plenty of food scraps and a large garden, then you may want to opt for a bigger size.
For a tumbling composter, somewhere between a 150 to 300L capacity is a good starting point, but you might want to size up (or buy multiple composters) if you have a larger garden. Those with a smaller garden may find that a worm farm (which typically has a 70 to 100L capacity) will suffice. Bokashi bins often have a capacity of between 12 and 20L.
Ease of use
There are a number of factors that will affect how easy a compost bin is to use. Ask yourself the following questions:
- How often do I have to mix the compost, if I have to mix it? And how difficult is this to do? Tumblers typically have a lever that’s used to mix compost, while stationary compost bins are often more difficult to stir. You don’t need to mix compost in a worm farm or Bokashi bin.
- How easy is it to empty? Compost tumblers often let you rotate the opening to face the ground, so you can dump compost straight into a separate bucket, ready for use.
- How much will it weigh when it’s filled?
Consider how easy it is to assemble too
Assembling a composter is a once-off issue, but should still be considered. Benchtop and stationary bins rarely need much assembly, but tumbling composters may be a bit more fiddly. Reading reviews on a composter can help you determine whether or not you’ll be able to put it together quickly and start composting right away.
Materials
The material of your compost bin should be lightweight, durable, simple to clean, and shouldn’t retain the funky odours of your compost.
Most composters are made of plastic which is effective at absorbing heat (particularly if it’s a darker colour) which quickens the composting process. Many are also made from recycled materials which makes them even more eco-friendly.
You can also find wooden compost bins, which usually look nicer in a yard. However, while they look great, you’ll have to think about rot - plus, they won’t heat up as quickly. Some brands also sell silicone composters; while silicone is easy to clean, odours tend to linger on it.
Number of compartments
Some composters, particularly tumbling ones, also have multiple chambers so that you can add to one while the other full compartment can cook. This means that you won’t slow the composting process down by continuously adding new waste.
If you’ve got your eyes on a composter with a single chamber, then you can always get two composters to have a quick turnover of fertiliser.
Odour control
Let’s face it, composting can smell funky. There’s not much smell with worm farm composters, as the worms eat most of the food scraps before they start rotting. For most other composters, however, rotting - and odour - is part of the process.
A decent composter will be able to control as much smell as possible. A composter made of a thick material should help ensure there’s minimal or no smell when your bin is closed. Of course, you’ll still notice the smell when you open the composter to add waste.
Is a compost bin worth it?
How much you fork out for a composter will largely depend on the type of composting system you want. Indoor stationary composters (including benchtop ones) typically go from anywhere from $10 to $100, while stationary outdoor compost bins usually set you back between $50 and 350.
Those looking for a worm farm can expect to pay between $110 and $430, while a compost tumbler generally costs somewhere between $170 and $400, with some models going for upwards of $1000.
If you’re looking to reduce the waste you send to landfill and you have a garden that will benefit from fertiliser, then a compost bin may be well worth the time, money, and effort you put towards it.