Joseph Joseph and Brabantia kitchen bins are hard to beat – but as a kitchen editor, this is the one I'd invest in

When you're on the hunt for a new kitchen bin, there might be two brands that come immediately to mind; Joseph Joseph and Brabantia.

Both household brands dominate the high street and many of our homes, but which is best when it comes to kitchen bins?

Shopping for a kitchen bin is more complicated than you might imagine. Finding the right capacity for the size of your family and household habits is one thing, but you'll also want to find the right shape and size to fit into your kitchen. And of course, style is a big consideration if your bin is on show in your cooking space.

Whether you want to match your kitchen bin to your colour scheme or choose a subtle, almost-invisible option, this is which brand you should go with.

Brabantia kitchen bins: Pros

Having seen Brabantia's bins first hand at a number of their press days in the past, what immediately strikes me is the sheer amount of colours available.

Brabantia is really innovating fast when it comes to style and there's a bin to match every single kitchen colour scheme. A colourful kitchen bin is a personal choice - some people will want to keep their bin as hidden as possible by picking a subtle, neutral tone, whereas others might use it as an opportunity to create a playful design feature.

Their standard size pedal bins now also come in metallic shades, so even if you don't want to match to the colour of your cabinets, you can instead coordinate with your chosen metal handle finish. It's a way of curating a thoughtful design without drawing too much attention to your waste.

Brabantia kitchen bins: Cons

Aside from their colouful pedal bins, Brabantia have a huge range of larger recycling bins as well as countertop food waste options. There is a big variety, but I would say that the major con is the lack of range in the colourful styles.

The colourful bins is what Brabantia is well known for, but if you have a large household then the size of this bin might not be big enough.

Their Bo Touch Bin is another popular choice that Ideal Home's Deputy Editor, Rebecca Knight, loves for it's legs that raise the bin off the ground, but it does only come in 4 neutral metallic styles.

Joseph Joseph kitchen bins: Pros

I am a self-confessed Joseph Joseph fan and owner of their Totem Max bin, so I have hands-on experience with how their kitchen bins stand up to the test.

Joseph Joseph isn't known for their style-focused products like Brabantia might be, but they are known for creating practical solutions for everyday life. After visiting their HQ, I can safely say that thorough testing goes into each and every product to ensure that it fixes a problem that you face in your home every day.

This means that for busy family kitchens, their products really are amazing. Their Totem bin is a bestseller and stacks the regular bin on top of the recycling bin for a space-saving design. It also has an integrated odour control with a charcoal filter which is a gamechanger for summer months when bins start to smell.

Brabantia's equivalenet to the Totem Max, the Bo Touch Bin, is more expensive at £245 as opposed to £229, and while it's not a huge difference, it's certainly a consideration.

Joseph Joseph kitchen bins: Cons

While functionality is at the heart of Joseph Joseph's bins, style is somewhat lacking. The stainless steel design looks chic in a kitchen, however, it does show up fingerprints, which is something that Brabantia has prevented with anti-fingerprint metallic finishes.

The range is also much smaller. You could argue that this is a result of detailed product testing and development, but if you're looking for a capacity larger than 40L, you might struggle.

The Totem Max has a capacity of 60L which is perfect for bigger households, but their other styles stop at a 40L capacity.

The Verdict

Choosing between Joseph Joseph and Brabantia is no easy task, and it's likely that you already have brand loyalty to one.

If your kitchen already has a lot of Joseph Joseph products (I especially love the SinkTech and CleanTech ranges) then it might make sense to stick with a similar design. Their bins are particularly great for small-space living thanks to the stacking design, and it's what I have personally really loved about my Joseph Joseph bin.

However, we care about our kitchen design more than ever before, and style extends to every corner - even the unsightly ones. Brabantia really has this covered with a plethora of colours to suit any space.

Ideal Home's Kitchen Appliances Editor, Molly Cleary, weighs in: 'My Joseph Joseph Totem bin was my kitchen hero for years. It is the bin you need for getting your recycling in order and it looks so sleek too. Guests to my house in the past haven't even realised it's a bin before!'

'Sadly after many years of use my Joseph Joseph bin recently gave out on me so I'm on the hunt for a replacement at the moment. I'm torn between saving up for the Totem vs investing in Brabantia's alternative, the Bo Pedal bin (which is currently on sale on Amazon for £135). It's a tough choice!'

Their offering also sits around a similar price point. Slightly expensive, for kitchen bins, but you can rest assured that they'll both stand up to the demands of daily life. So it mostly comes down to how much you care about appearance - if it's a lot, Brabantia just about takes the lead.

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Which brand are you leaning towards?