Best Compost Bins: 9 Plastic-Free and Low-Plastic Picks

That little pile of coffee grounds, carrot peels, and eggshells by your sink is one of the easiest things in your house to keep out of the trash. Give it the right bin and, a few months later, it comes back to you as dark, crumbly soil for your garden beds and houseplants. Skip the bin, and it rides a garbage truck to a landfill where it slowly turns into methane. The best compost bins for a low-plastic home are made of steel, cedar, or ceramic, and our top pick for most backyards is the Greenes Fence Cedar Composter.

The tricky part is that most compost bins on the market are made of plastic. Tumblers, worm farms, kitchen caddies, and bokashi buckets are usually molded from polyethylene or polypropylene, and that plastic sits outside in the sun and rain for years. If you came to composting to cut down on plastic, buying a big new plastic barrel can feel a little backward.

Don’t Miss: Composting for Beginners Brand new to composting? Start here for the simple greens and browns basics before you pick a bin. Read more →

This guide sorts the best compost bins by what they are made of, so you can see right away which ones are steel, wood, or ceramic and which ones still use plastic. We considered material, capacity, how each bin handles odors and pests, and how much space and effort it asks of you. Where no plastic-free option exists yet, we picked the version from a brand that is open about its plastic and labeled it clearly.

Note: steel, cedar, and ceramic picks come first. Plastic picks only made the list when there was no good plastic-free bin in that category. Grab your scrap bowl and scroll on through.

Our Top Picks at a Glance

The best compost bins for most homes are the 174-gallon Greenes Fence cedar composter for big backyards, the 33-gallon Jora JK125 steel tumbler for a sealed bin that is easy to turn, and the 1.3-gallon Epica stainless steel bin for the kitchen counter.

Here is the quick version, with each pick, the job it does best, and what it is made of. Price tiers run from $ (under about $15) to $$$ (over about $35).

How We Picked the Best Compost Bins

We ranked each compost bin by what it is made of, part by part, using the maker’s own spec sheet, so the 4 fully plastic-free bins come first, the steel tumbler with some plastic insulation comes next, and the 3 plastic bins come last.

We started with the compost bin brands people search for most, then added smaller makers that build in steel, wood, and ceramic. From there, we checked each bin against the manufacturer or retailer spec sheet to see what it is made of, part by part, and dropped any bin that hid plastic behind a natural-sounding name.

That check knocked out a few popular picks. A bamboo kitchen bin turned out to be bamboo fiber bound with melamine, which is a type of plastic. A fabric worm bag uses a polyurethane coating and plastic connectors. One well-known tumbler only says it is made from “BPA-free materials,” without naming the plastic at all, and we could not confirm what it is.

After material, we looked at the things that decide whether a bin gets used: capacity for different household sizes, how well the lid and vents keep out rats and raccoons, and whether the design makes it easy to keep the mix balanced. We leaned on composting guidance from the EPA, Cornell Waste Management Institute, and university extension programs for what a good bin needs to do.

The Best Compost Bins for 2026

The best compost bins for 2026 are the Greenes Fence, Jora JK125, Behrens, Epica, Norpro, FCMP IM4000, SCD Probiotics, and Subpod, plus a free DIY pallet bin, listed from the least plastic to the most.

Each card below shows what the bin is made of, who it suits, and the trade-offs to know before you buy. The DIY option comes last.

Best Budget Pick: DIY Wood and Wire Bin

The cheapest compost bin is often the one you build. Four untreated wood pallets tied together at the corners make a sturdy open bin, and a roll of hardware cloth turns it into one that rats cannot get into. Cornell Cooperative Extension suggests half-inch hardware cloth or welded wire for the walls and quarter-inch to half-inch galvanized hardware cloth underneath.

Stick with plain, untreated wood. The EPA lists treated or painted wood on its do-not-compost list, so you don’t want it holding your compost either. A circle of wire mesh held with a few garden stakes also works as a quick, nearly free leaf bin.

Don’t Miss: What Not to Compost Some scraps cause smells, pests, and slimy piles. Here is what to keep out of your new bin. Read more →

How to Choose a Compost Bin

Choose a compost bin by your space and how much you toss: a countertop bin around 1 gallon for kitchen scraps, a 20 to 33 gallon can or tumbler for a small yard, and a big box bin like the 174-gallon Greenes Fence if you also compost leaves and yard waste.

Picking a compost bin comes down to four things: where you will put it, how much you will feed it, what it is made of, and how well it keeps odors and pests out.

Which Type of Compost Bin Fits Your Space?

• Stationary bins sit on the ground and take scraps continuously. They hold the most and cost the least, and they work best in a yard.
• Tumblers are drums on a stand that you turn with a handle. They are tidy and pest-resistant, but they hold less and work in batches.
• Countertop bins are small kitchen containers for collecting scraps between trips outside or to a drop-off.
• Worm bins use red worms to eat scraps and leave behind castings. They can live in a garage, on a patio, or in a garden bed.
• Bokashi buckets ferment scraps in a sealed container indoors. They take meat and dairy, but the result still needs to be buried.

What Size Compost Bin Do You Need?

For a kitchen caddy, about one gallon is right for most households, since you want to empty it every few days. Outdoors, size depends on how much you cook and how much yard you have. A tumbler like the Jora, which holds 125 liters (about 33 gallons), is sized for 2 to 4 gallons of scraps a week. If you also rake leaves or mow, a bigger stationary bin like the 174-gallon (about 23 cubic feet) Greenes cedar box gives you room for all those browns.

Bigger piles also tend to compost faster. Hot composting needs enough mass to hold heat, and SARE notes that temperatures from 110°F up to 160°F help kill weed seeds and disease organisms. Rodale Institute recommends a pile at least 3 feet wide, deep, and tall, which is about 27 cubic feet, so it can hold onto that heat. A tiny pile rarely gets there.

Why Compost Bin Material Matters for Microplastics

Compost is supposed to go back into your soil, and anything that ends up in the bin ends up in your garden. Researchers at the University of Bayreuth found plastic particles in compost made from household biowaste, mostly the same types used in food packaging. That points to packaging that slipped in with the scraps, so the biggest fix is watching what goes into your bin.

Still, a plastic bin is one more piece of plastic sitting outdoors, getting baked by the sun for years. Steel, untreated cedar, and ceramic avoid that question entirely. If you go with plastic, choose recycled plastic, keep it out of harsh afternoon sun, and replace it once it starts to get brittle. Our guide to microplastics in soil covers the bigger picture.

How to Keep Compost Odors and Pests Away

A well-built bin does most of the work for you. Look for a tight-fitting lid, vents covered with mesh, and a base that animals cannot dig under. Cornell Cooperative Extension recommends wrapping a bin in quarter-inch to half-inch wire mesh, setting it on a mesh-covered pallet or gravel base, and keeping meat, fish, oily leftovers, and cheese out of the pile.

Indoors, a charcoal filter in the lid of a countertop bin soaks up smells between trips outside. Emptying it every few days helps even more.

Common Compost Bin Problems and Fixes

Most compost bin problems have a quick fix: add dry browns and turn the pile if it smells or feels soggy, add water and fresh greens if it will not heat up, and bury scraps under browns with meat and dairy kept out to stop pests.

Most compost problems come down to too much of one thing and not enough of another. Here is how to fix the most common ones.

👃 Why Does My Compost Bin Smell?

A rotten-egg or garbage smell usually means the pile is too wet and packed down, so air cannot get in. Mix in a big handful of dry browns and turn the pile to open it up. An ammonia smell means too many greens, and the fix is the same: more browns.

🌡️ My Compost Isn’t Heating Up

A cold pile is usually too small, too dry, or short on greens. SARE says the ideal moisture is 40% to 60%, about as damp as a wrung-out sponge. Add water if it feels dusty, add fresh greens if it is mostly leaves, and turn it to move the outside material into the middle. A cold pile will still break down. It just takes longer.

A long-stem compost thermometer takes out the guesswork. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service says a hot pile runs from 110°F to 160°F and suggests turning it once the center peaks around 130°F to 140°F, since turning gives the microbes the air they need. If you would rather skip the fuss, cold composting works too. You keep adding scraps and let the pile sit, though NRCS notes it can take a year or more and will not kill weed seeds, so keep weedy plants out.

🐀 Pests Keep Getting Into My Bin

Rats, raccoons, and flies go after exposed food. Bury every new batch of scraps under browns, keep meat and dairy out, and close up any gaps with hardware cloth. If a plastic bin keeps getting chewed, switching to a metal bin like the Behrens or a tumbler on legs usually ends it.

💧 Too Wet or Too Dry

A slimy, soggy pile needs browns and a few turns to dry out, plus a lid if rain is getting in. A dry pile that is not doing anything needs a sprinkle of water and some fresh greens. Squeeze a handful. It should feel moist but not drip. If dark liquid is seeping out the bottom of the bin, that is leachate, and it means the pile is holding too much water.

Compost Bins We Left Off the List

We left off compost bins like the Bamboozle, the Urban Worm Bag, and the Simplehuman Compost Caddy because they hide plastic in the body, the coating, or the inner tub.

A few well-known bins did not make it once we checked what they are made of.

• Bamboozle Food Composter: sold as a bamboo bin, but it is made of bamboo fiber and melamine, a plastic resin.
• Urban Worm Bag: a fabric worm bin with a polyurethane coating and plastic connectors on the frame.
• Envirocycle Composter: the brand describes it only as “BPA-free materials” and does not name the plastic.
• Simplehuman Compost Caddy: stainless steel on the outside, but the scraps sit in a plastic inner tub.
• OXO Easy-Clean and Joseph Joseph Stack: both made of plastic, and we had steel and ceramic options that do the same job.
• Exaco Aerobin 400: an insulated bin with a polypropylene and polyethylene shell wrapped around polystyrene foam, so it is plastic inside and out.
• Worm Factory 360: a popular stacking worm bin made from recycled plastic trays. We kept one worm bin on the list, and the Subpod got that spot.
• Full Circle Fresh Air: a countertop bin made mostly of recycled plastic with a little steel, and our steel and ceramic picks do the same job.

FAQs on Best Compost Bins

Save This Before You Pick Your Compost Bin 📌

Final Thoughts About the Best Compost Bins

The best compost bin is the one that fits your space and that you will feed every week, and for most backyards that is a simple cedar box like the Greenes Fence composter.

The best compost bin is the one that fits your space and that you will actually feed every week. For most backyards, that is a simple cedar box like the Greenes Fence composter. If you want something sealed and easy to turn, the steel Jora tumbler is worth saving for, and the Epica or Norpro will handle scraps on the kitchen counter.

Choosing steel, wood, or ceramic keeps one more piece of plastic out of your yard and out of the soil you are trying to build. Start with a kitchen bin and one outdoor bin, add a bag of browns, and you will have your first batch of homemade compost by spring.

📚 References

1. Carr, R. (2019, January 4). Backyard composting basics: A cheatsheet. Rodale Institute. https://rodaleinstitute.org/blog/backyard-composting-basics-a-cheatsheet/
2. City of Longmont. (n.d.). Composting. https://longmontcolorado.gov/trash-recycling-composting-3/composting/
3. City of Renton. (2026). 2026 solid waste utility rates. https://www.rentonwa.gov/City-Services/Utilities/Utility-Systems/Utility-Rate-Information/2026-Solid-Waste-Utility-Rates
4. Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County. (n.d.). Composting: Preventing animal nuisances. https://stlawrence.cce.cornell.edu/resources/composting-preventing-animal-nuisances
5. Cornell Waste Management Institute. (n.d.). Compost chemistry. Cornell University. https://www.css.cornell.edu/cwmi/compost/chemistry.html
6. Hope, P. (2025, May 22). Compost bin face-off: Rotating barrels vs. box-style composters. Consumer Reports. https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/compost-bins/rotating-barrels-vs-box-style-compost-bins-a7824343506/
7. Magdoff, F., & van Es, H. (2021). Making and using composts. In Building soils for better crops (4th ed.). Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. https://www.sare.org/publications/building-soils-for-better-crops/making-and-using-composts/
8. Town of Cohasset. (n.d.). Curbside food waste collection. https://www.cohassetma.gov/1101/Curbside-Food-Waste-Collection
9. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2021). Composting [Fact sheet]. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/Texas_Conservation_in_Your_Backyard_Composting_Accessible.pdf
10. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Composting at home. https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home
11. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2023). Quantifying methane emissions from landfilled food waste. https://www.epa.gov/land-research/quantifying-methane-emissions-landfilled-food-waste
12. Washington State University Extension Kitsap County. (n.d.). Bokashi composting. https://extension.wsu.edu/kitsap/bokashi-composting/
13. Weithmann, N., Möller, J. N., Löder, M. G. J., Piehl, S., Laforsch, C., & Freitag, R. (2018). Organic fertilizer as a vehicle for the entry of microplastic into the environment. Science Advances, 4(4), eaap8060. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aap8060

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