Homdox Steel 30l waste bin

Rating: 3/5

Review:
OK, but not the best quality

This bin was sent to me for review.  It's not bad, but it's less well-made than I had hoped.

The bin arrived in no fewer than three cardboard boxes, one inside the other.  In spite of this, there were a couple of dents in it which I'm not impressed with.  There is a permanent dent in the lid which doesn't look great, and a large dent in the body of the bin.  This one was easy to push out – which gives you an idea of the thinness of the steel.  Compared to, say, a Brabantia bin it's really quite flimsy which may not matter much in normal use, but isn't confidence inspiring.

It looks nice (dents notwithstanding).  The steel has a good brushed finish (not polished as stated on this page) and it's nicely proportioned.  The pedal mechanism is OK but a bit stiff; the lid opens fairly easily but well short of vertical.  Also I'd expect a pedal to be fairly flat but this one sticks up at a rather alarmingly priapic angle.  This isn’t a problem as such, but it's not what I'd expect.  The lifting handle on the hinge is solid enough, but it's twisted; again, not really a problem in use, but I'd expect better.

The inner plastic bin is very solid, with a capacity of about 30l.  However, it is not perfectly round so it has to be positioned very exactly or the lid doesn't close properly.  Even then I sometimes have to give it a tap to close fully, and the inner bin's imperfect shape makes it a little difficult to fit a liner so that it doesn't show too much.  The lid doesn't fit quite true all the way round, with a bit of an overhang toward the back, which doesn't show much but doesn't suggest real quality in the build.

So…it's OK, but not the greatest bin in the world.  It is cheaper than bigger-brand bins, but the difference in quality is pretty evident.  That said, it looks good in the kitchen and does the job fairly well.  I wanted a second bin for recyclable waste and this seems OK for that.  I will edit this review if I have any durability problems after using it for a while; for now I'd say it's adequate but it may be worth paying a little more for better quality. 

Amazon page HERE