The best compost bins for UK gardens

The cheapest compost bin is usually also the right one. A plain plastic "dalek" of 220 or 330 litres, sitting on soil in a shady corner, will turn peelings, prunings and lawn clippings into compost for most households. Everything else in this guide (hot bins, tumblers, wooden bins, wormeries and bokashi) solves a particular problem, and is worth the extra money only if you have that problem. For the rest of the growing side of the garden, see our grow your own guides.

None of these bins has been through our own hands: the picks come from makers' and UK retailers' specifications, council composting pages, the RHS and owners' forum posts, all read in October 2026.

The six types compared

Two things in that table catch people out. A bokashi bin doesn't make finished compost: it ferments food waste, which then goes into a compost bin or is dug into the soil. And a wormery is for kitchen scraps only: North Yorkshire Council warns that grass cuttings and garden waste can heat up and kill the worms.

Check the council offer before you buy

Many councils subsidise compost bins through Get Composting (getcomposting.com), which sells the Blackwall Compost Converter and other composting kit. You enter your postcode, and the site shows any offer your council has. The postcode has to match the delivery address.

The discount can be large. On the Blackwall 330-litre product page, prices were about £7–£47 in October 2026 depending on council, £47 at full price. Derbyshire's offer, for example, listed the 220-litre bin at about £31 and the 330-litre at about £43. Delivery was about £4–£7 per order in October 2026, unless your council paid it. Central Bedfordshire describes the same route: register, enter your postcode, then pay for the subsidised bin through the site.

The same shop also lists the HOTBIN and Maze tumblers, so it is worth checking even if you want something other than a dalek.

What size do you need?

Litres on the label tell you less than how quickly you fill the bin and how long it takes to rot. The RHS says compost "can take between six months and two years to reach maturity" and that bins under one cubic metre (1,000 litres) are generally less efficient, though they still work, more slowly. Every bin in this guide is well under that, so for most households the answer is not a bigger bin but a second one: fill one while the other finishes.

To see why, add up your kitchen waste. A household that empties a 5-litre kitchen caddy three times a week puts in about 15 litres a week, or roughly 780 litres a year, before anything from the garden. Waste does settle as it rots (Which? measured settling in its bin trial).

Our rule of thumb (a suggestion, not a measured figure):

If clippings swamp your bin, a mower that mulches returns them to the lawn instead; our lawn mower buying guide explains mulching.

Is a hot composter worth it?

A hot composter is an insulated bin that holds the heat microbes make as they break waste down. Get Composting's HOTBIN listing says the 200-litre Mk2 works at 40–60°C and makes compost within 30–90 days, against up to 18 months for a cold heap at 10°C. According to Gardeners' World's review, it can take cooked food, meat, fish and bones once it is above 40°C; below that, Gardeners' World suggests sticking to vegetable peelings and offcuts, fruit peelings (citrus included), tea leaves and coffee grounds.

The catch is feeding it. Suttons' listing and the Gardeners' World review give a minimum of 5kg of waste a week to keep it hot. The same review says you need to add about half a caddy of paper or card for every full caddy of kitchen waste, plus some part-composted woodchip. One allotment-forum owner (2017) said they struggled to keep theirs at temperature and found the compost "wetter and more clumpy" than from their daleks; another said theirs went cold in winter but they would "buy it again". If you can't supply 5kg a week, a dalek plus a bokashi kit costs far less and handles the same waste.

Tumblers, wooden bins, wormeries and bokashi

Tumblers sit off the ground and are turned with a handle, so you never fork the heap. The seller lists the Maze 180-litre at 8–24 weeks to mature compost. Which? found the rotating bins in its trial tricky to fill, harder to empty than traditional bins, and that all three "had a proportion of only partially decomposed material left at the end of the trial". A twin-chamber tumbler helps: you stop adding to one side while it finishes.

Wooden bins look better, DIY Garden notes, and suit a spot you can see from the house. Look for pressure-treated timber, which doesn't need re-treating every year; our guide to metal, wooden and plastic sheds explains pressure versus dip treatment. DIY Garden found the slats on one wooden bin it reviewed too far apart, so small food waste fell through and animals could reach it.

Wormeries can stand indoors or out, so they suit gardens with no bare soil. North Yorkshire Council says worms eat most food waste that isn't strongly acidic, including cooked pasta and rice, but not citrus, onions or bread, and that meat and fish attract houseflies. They do best between 12°C and 25°C, so bring the wormery indoors in winter. The liquid it produces can feed houseplants diluted with 10 parts water.

Bokashi is a cheap way to deal with cooked food, meat and dairy. A twin pack was listed at about £53 in October 2026, against about £245–£255 for a HOTBIN. You press food waste into a sealed bucket with bran, leave the full bucket to ferment for about two weeks, then add it to a compost bin or dig it in. North Yorkshire Council warns that green mould means fermentation has failed and the contents should go in your rubbish.

Rats, sludge and bins that stall: common problems solved

Rats. Mid Sussex Council's rat advice is to stand the bin on a wire mesh base so rats can't tunnel in, keep it 2–3 feet from fences, sheds and other structures, and turn the compost regularly. Mid Sussex also says food and kitchen waste should not go in compost bins at all, while Gateshead's page excludes only meat, dairy and cooked food. A HOTBIN owner on Allotments 4 All who doesn't put meat or similar food waste in theirs still found rat evidence on the side, and enclosed the sides in wire mesh. A raised tumbler with closed doors gives rats less to nest under, according to Get Composting.

Wet, smelly sludge. The RHS says this usually means too little air and too much water. Cover the bin from rain and mix in more brown material, such as shredded card and woody prunings. The RHS suggests 25–50% soft green material, with the rest chopped woody brown material. Chopping prunings small with secateurs helps them rot.

Nothing happens. Small bins are slow, and composting slows in winter, the RHS says. Turning the heap several times a year speeds it up; if that is too much work, forking or stirring every few months still lets air in. If it is dry and fibrous, water it and add more green waste.

Is it ready? The RHS says mature compost is dark brown and crumbly, and smells like damp woodland.

Six bins worth buying, one of each type

Where these picks come from

Stock moved around: when we checked, several of these bins showed as sold out at one UK shop while another still had them, so check more than one retailer. Commission didn't decide any pick. We wanted one bin of each type, so the table compares like with like rather than five versions of the same dalek. Every one was listed by a UK maker or retailer when we checked in October 2026, and the specs are mostly copied from those listings (the HOTBIN's weight and warranty come from Gardeners' World's review).

Related: Metal vs wooden vs plastic sheds: which lasts in a UK garden?

Questions people ask

What size compost bin do I need?

For kitchen scraps and a small garden, a 220 or 330 litre bin is usually enough. If you also compost clippings from a medium or large lawn, use two bins in turn: the RHS says compost takes six months to two years, so one bin can finish while you fill the other.

Can you put cooked food in a compost bin?

Not in an ordinary cold bin: councils such as Gateshead exclude meat, dairy and cooked food. A bokashi bin takes cooked food, meat, fish and cheese, and a hot composter such as the HOTBIN takes them once it is above 40°C.

How long does a compost bin take to make compost?

In an ordinary bin, between six months and two years, according to the RHS. Sellers state 8–24 weeks for the Maze tumbler and 30–90 days for the HOTBIN, which has to be kept hot with at least 5kg of waste a week.

Should a compost bin go on soil or concrete?

The RHS recommends a sheltered, shady spot, ideally directly on soil. On concrete, paving or decking, Get Composting recommends a base plate for the Blackwall bins. A HOTBIN needs a level, hard surface.

How do I stop rats getting into my compost bin?

Stand the bin on a wire mesh base, keep it 2–3 feet from fences and sheds, and turn the compost regularly, as Mid Sussex Council advises. Keep meat, dairy and cooked food out of ordinary bins; use a bokashi bin for those instead.

Sources

1. Blackwall 330 Litre Green Compost Converter, Get Composting
2. HOTBIN 200 Litre Compost Bin, Get Composting
3. Maze 180 Litre Compost Tumbler, Get Composting
4. Maze 245 Litre Compost Tumbler, Get Composting
5. Discounted bin scheme, Derbyshire County Council
6. Subsidised composting and water butt range, Central Bedfordshire Council
7. Home composting, Gateshead Council
8. HOTBIN Mk.2 Composter, Suttons
9. HOTBIN Mk 2 composter review, Gardeners' World
10. Hotbin composting (forum thread, 2017), Allotments 4 All
11. Maze 180 Litre Geared Twin Compost Tumbler, Even Greener
12. Maze Twin Pack Bokashi Bin, Even Greener
13. Forest Beehive Compost Bin 752mm x 740mm x 855mm, Screwfix
14. Beehive Compost Bin, The Worm that Turned
15. The Original Wormery Composter, Eden Project Shop
16. Wormeries fact sheet, North Yorkshire Council
17. Bokashi EM fact sheet, North Yorkshire Council
18. Composting, RHS
19. Rat garden advice, Mid Sussex District Council
20. Best and worst compost bins, Which?
21. 5 Best Compost Bins, DIY Garden