When you wake up in the morning, you’re probably not overwhelmed with the urge to research kitchen bin ideas. But despite this, the right kitchen bin can make or break a kitchen - especially if you’re a recycling wizz-kid or you only have a small kitchen to work with.
There are so many things you can add to a kitchen that aren’t technically necessary, like the best cast iron cookware or the best coffee machine (although we would like to point out that caffeine is sometimes very necessary). But we like to add these things, anyway, because they make us happy.
And that’s why we’re bringing your attention to the humble kitchen bin, which is considered to be the total opposite. As many people see this as a necessity, they fail to realise that a kitchen bin can be a stylish and practical addition to your kitchen. But if you need a little push to become a member of the Kitchen Bin Appreciation Club, take a look at these clever kitchen bin ideas for inspiration.
Kitchen bin ideas
1. Hang a food caddy inside a kitchen cabinet
If you’re struggling to work out how to organise a small kitchen and are limited on countertop space , opt for a door-hung design like the Puro Caddy from EKO. This means your food caddy is close to hand when you're preparing food. Mount it on the outside of the cabinet door when you’re cooking so you can scrape scraps and leftovers straight in, then when you’re done, move it to the inside of the door. Just be sure to organise kitchen cabinets so you can shut the door without the caddy knocking things over inside.
Use compostable food waste bags inside your caddy to stop it from getting mucky, and either compost it in your own garden or put it out for your council if they offer a food waste collection service.
Seamlessly sliding onto your cupboard door and with an adjustable air vent to keep smells at bay, this Joseph and Joseph creation can be kept out of sight and out of mind.
This hanging compost caddy can either be stuck to the inside of your cabinet or hung using the hook provided. And with a bin bag fix ring, you won’t have any accidents, either.
Cheaper than many of the other John Lewis bins on the market, this sleek and stylish food waste caddy can be hidden in a cupboard - or fixed to your larger waste bin.
2. Use drawers to divide up your recyclables
If you’ve got the space, consider dedicating a set of drawers to your recyclables; one for plastic, one for paper, one for tins and so on. This industrial-style design comes with made chalkboards for labelling. You could create a similar effect easily enough with stick-on chalkboard labels.
If this multi-coloured chest of drawers doesn’t match with the style of your kitchen, it also comes in dark grey with a stylish distressed finish.
With wicker storage baskets that are perfect for your empty bottles, cans, and paper waste, you could keep your spare bin bags in the top drawer. Use Dunelm discount codes to help stick to your budget with this one.
If rattan is more your style, this chest of drawers has four drawers available for all of your waste or recycling needs. Its sturdy pine construction will also be a great addition to the kitchen.
3. Scale up your recycling station
For busy family kitchens that produce a lot of recycling and waste, you may find the compartments in your store-bought separation bin fill up quickly. ‘Instead, line up several tall, freestanding bins alongside each other to create a recycling station’, advises Jane, co-director at Binopolis. ‘This gives you increased capacity and enables you to easily sort rubbish as you go’.
To make it even easier, assign coloured bins, like these Brabantia ones from Amazon, for different categories of recyclables, green for glass, black for paper, white for metal etc.
With a bin for your glass, plastic, and paper, this set of three recycling bins will ensure that you’re stepping up your recycling game.
This 3-in-1 recycling station offers airtight lids to keep unseemly smells out of your kitchen. And as it’s black, it should blend into the background perfectly.
Separating your waste has never been so easy with this set of three recycling bins. With a capacity of 40 litres each, they’ll definitely be big enough.
4. Create a recycling hub on wheels
Tired of trekking back and forth to the bins? Take all your recycling out in just one trip with a recycling hub on wheels. Then simply roll it outside and unload. Create your own by attaching castors to the bottom of a wooden fruit crate. Then place sturdy plastic boxes (lined with handled canvas bags) inside.
With a storage capacity of 75 litres, you can really take your recycling efforts up a notch with this trunk. Its lid will also keep rubbish smells out of the kitchen.
Storage baskets don’t have to be ugly, and we love this rattan basket on wheels. Stylish but practical, it should tick all the boxes.
A stylish and unique alternative, this IKEA unit will keep your recycling out of the way - while still offering easy access when you want to add even more to the pile.
5. Keep essentials within easy reach
Rather than hide bins away in a utility room, make a feature of them. Set up a smart recycling station with all the essentials stored close to hand. Metal tins, crates, boxes and buckets conceal unsightly items such as bin-bags, deodorisers, wipes and rubber gloves and, when organised thoughtfully, make for a smart display. Create a similar look on a smaller scale for a stylish kitchen shelving idea, too.
We love these retro-style metal bins for sorting recyclables. To make them feel less imposing, stick to a uniform colour palette, as shown in the cream utility room idea above. Label with understated brown luggage tags.
Technically a laundry bin, this bamboo bin could make the perfect addition to a utility room or kitchen. It has ‘stylish recycling bin’ written all over it.
A budget but beautiful option for those who want to go down the more traditional route, this bin comes in either black or white.
With a pull-out function, you can keep your recycling out of the way 99% of the time. For that last 1%, simply pull out the basket and fill it up.
6. Hide bins behind closed doors
While we can’t live without our kitchen bins, we can live without looking at them! Switch to an integrated design built into kitchen cabinets to keep recycling and waste organised and out of sight. Tucked neatly behind cabinet doors, you’d never even know it was there.
‘It’s a good idea to keep waste and recycling bins out of sight as much as possible in the kitchen to maintain a clean space for food preparation and cooking, says Lizzie Beesley, Head of Design at Magnet. 'Pull out bins for instance, are an ideal way of keeping rubbish and food waste neatly stored away, without ruining your overall kitchen aesthetic.’
Note that by opting for an integrated bin in your kitchen layout, you'll sacrifice storage space in your kitchen cabinets. Something to bear in mind if you’re organising a small kitchen layout.
Made from a heavy steel frame and offering a 70-litre capacity, you won’t even know this bin exists until you open up your cupboard and take full advantage of it.
Opt for a smaller waste bin like this if you have a smaller family or want to try and reduce your normal waste and up your recycling antics.
With a sturdy self-supporting mounting frame, this system offers easy storage for normal waste and recycling. And we can’t help but love this colour combination.
7. Reserve a small bin for ‘proper’ rubbish
We’re all guilty of being a little less diligent than we should be at times when it comes to recycling. The bigger your rubbish bin, the more tempting it is to pop things in it that should go in the recycling. By choosing a small main bin, you’re more likely to filter out recyclable items to avoid overfilling.
You can’t go wrong with a small pedal bin if you’re trying to cut down on your normal rubbish, and this 20-litre kitchen bin is both stylish and practical.
Designed specifically with both wet and dry rubbish in mind, this dual push-type bin doesn’t just come in blue. You can also buy it in white or grey.
This modular bin offers two functions: it can be mounted on a wall thanks to the bracket included, or you could buy a couple and stack them on top of each other.
8. Make a statement with a stylish freestanding design
If you haven’t got the cabinet space for a concealed bin, having a freestanding one is your only option. Whether it’s a prime position pedal bin or a compact countertop caddy, if it’s out on display, it needs to look good. Thankfully, there’s some seriously stylish designs on the market like the Swan Gatsby Bin, sold at Amazon.
The same goes for recycling containers, too. If you haven’t got space in the kitchen for these, consider storing them elsewhere in the home disguised in a stylish storage vessel. Hunt down an old wicker laundry basket and place boxes inside for easy separation – no one will ever know. Just make sure you wash your recyclables out extra carefully.
Coming in eight different colour options, this bin has been designed with a 'soft-touch' opening and closing system for ease and satisfaction.
No touching is necessary with this freestanding tower bin, as the lid will automatically open when you approach it. Plus, it comes in four different colours.
Offering a unique and different aesthetic, this freestanding bin focuses on width rather than height - perfect for smaller homes with fewer people living in it.
9. Double up on recycling systems
If you’re short on kitchen space, bypass oversized recycling bins in favour of a space-saving recycling storage box, complete with individual inserts, that can sit neatly at the end of a row of kitchen units. The SmartStore Recycling Bin Unit from Lakeland is particularly great.
Alternatively, you can use it as extra recycling storage elsewhere in the home. If you’re blessed with a walk-in pantry, tuck one just inside, and stock up on the best kitchen organisers. Recycling packaging as you decant your dried foods into glass jars is a great kitchen pantry idea.
With a 40-litre capacity, this recycling waste bin is perfect for stacking if you really want to take your recycling game up a notch.
A bargain but basic design that won’t let you down. Simply fill it with your recycling waste and pop on the lid to keep any strange smells inside.
These stackable recycling bins are actually made from recycled plastic, offering you a full-circle moment that just makes so much sense.
10. Blend into the background
Looking for a kitchen bin that doesn’t actually look like a bin? There’s an easy way around this – opt for a design that coordinates with your decor appliances and accessories. You’ll barely even notice it’s there, as demonstrated here in this stylish cream kitchen bin idea.
You can never go wrong with a matt cream pedal bin. While it offers sleek curves and a stylish design, it won’t stick out, either.
Coming in four different colours to suit the style of your kitchen, this bin offers both normal waste and recycling waste sections, with a foot pedal mechanism for both.
Sometimes stainless steel is the way to go, and you don’t need to worry about fingerprints with this motion-sensor bin, either.
Where should I put my kitchen bin?
It’s all about practicality when it comes to planning an efficient kitchen layout. Ensure your bins are positioned near worktops or prep areas so that mess can easily be cleared up as you go. If you’ve opted for an integrated design, under islands or breakfast bars are often a practical location.
How do I keep kitchen waste organised?
Come bin and recycling day, separating out a week’s worth of kitchen waste can be a chore. Save yourself the hassle by organising as you go, made easy with a waste separation bin.
‘You can get both freestanding and in-cupboard bins with multiple compartments so you can sort waste as you throw it away, which makes emptying it even easier. Many often come with a separate food waste caddy for extra convenience’, says Jane, co-director at Binopolis.
Choose a design with removable containers so you can simply lift them out and tip the contents into your recycling bins ready for collection. Local authorities recycle items differently, so visit your local council’s website to work out how many containers you might need.
What size should a kitchen bin be?
When deciding what size bin to buy, take into consideration the size of your household. The more people there are, the more waste there’s going to be. You’ll also need to factor in how much available kitchen space you have when you're choosing your kitchen bin ideas.
A 35-litre bin will suffice for a small household of one or two people. A bin for a larger household should be around 40-50 litres to avoid having to change the bin bag frequently. If you still feel like you need more space, we’d suggest buying multiple smaller-sized bins rather than one giant one, otherwise removing the bag can turn into a two-man job!
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