The Oddly Stylish Compost Bin That Got Me to Start Composting

Like many an idealistic cook, I have stopped and started attempts to compost my food waste many times. Two main obstacles have held me back over the years. For one thing, compost kind of smells disgusting (I’ve stored it in the freezer per that popular hack, but there’s only so much space). It’s also a hassle to transport it to another location (and I’m too, shall we say, frugal to invest in one of those compost pick-up companies).

But this year, a gift from my husband helped motivate me to try composting again. He gave me a kit for starting my own morel habitat, which if we play our cards right, promises us the ability to grow morel mushrooms in our own raised bed in the backyard by next spring. The main responsibility for us: Feed the bed regularly with compostable kitchen scraps. The compost-to-be is going right into my backyard, which takes care of the transportation hurdle. But what about the smell (or general laziness that would keep me from depositing scraps directly into the morel bed nightly)? Enter: this adorable compost bin.

Beyond being generally cute and oddly stylish, the Bamboozle indoor compost bin has a built-in charcoal filter that keeps less-than-desirable odors from escaping as it fills up with kitchen scraps. The filters need to be replaced every two months, but that feels pretty low-lift to me. I’ve been hand-washing it, but it’s reportedly dishwasher safe as well.

Even if you don’t have a morel habitat in your backyard (#shitfoodwriterssay), the bin would still be useful when paired with any sort of backyard composting system. You can deposit vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, even some paper, all of which will eventually break down into garden material. Many neighborhoods also have stations to drop off food waste (there’s one near my local farmers market in Falls Church, Virginia), and if you line the bin with a compostable bag, you can work composting into your routine, even if you don’t have a yard (or the desire to break down vegetables in it).

With farmers’ market produce ramping up for spring and summer, most home cooks are going to be serving a lot more salads, BLTs, asparagus side dishes, and grilled veggie kabobs. Now’s the time to get yourself a bin and make sure those produce trimmings don’t completely go to waste.