Disclosure: This is an unpaid review with Joseph Joseph. I was sent a Totem 60 Bin for the purposes of this blogpost. All images, thoughts and words — as ever — are my own.
There used to be a time when we’d literally throw anything and everything in the bin, if it was surplus to requirements.
And there was only one bin.
And a compost heap if you were lucky enough to have an allotment or a garden large enough to house one.
Thankfully, these days we live in an era where so much can be recycled.
In the area where we live, for example, the council recycles glass, paper, tins, garden waste, fabric — even food.
All good. And it gives me a sense of well-being to think that we’re trying to do our best for the environment (especially given how much packaging things seem to come in these days).
But the downside of being able to recycle so much is our kitchen is usually FULL of rubbish.
Bags for this, boxes for that. A caddy for food scraps.
Very often, our kitchen resembles a recycling centre. And for a neat-freak like me, it makes me despair.
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Introducing The Totem 60 Bin
Thankfully those clever chaps at Joseph Joseph have come up with the most intelligent waste bin you’re ever likely to come across. And not only intelligent but good looking too.
The Totem 60 is the epitome of smart recycling.
This is the Ferrari of bins — sleek, shiny and beautifully styled — plus it’s innovative system combines waste and recycling in one very lovely looking package.
Totem comes in three sizes — 48L, 58L and 60L — and is available in Stone or Graphite as well as there being a stainless steel version of the 60L unit.
And it’s not just a pretty face. There’s a general bin at the top of the unit — with an odour filter to reduce unpleasant smells — and a pull-out drawer at the bottom that can be divided to suit your recycling needs. We’ve got paper and card in one side and plastic and glass in the other.
The top bin can be easily lifted out so it doesn’t disturb the contents of the drawer below plus there is also a separate little caddy for food scraps. This can be stored inside the drawer or the waste bin — or you can take it out entirely to give you more room for refuse; we have ours standing on the kitchen counter.
My Totem 60 Bin Review
Joseph Joseph have labelled the Totem 60 ‘intelligent waste’ and they’re not wrong. But as well as being smart in terms of intuition it’s also smart in looks.
It’s streamlined exterior will fit beautifully in any setting; whether your kitchen is a vision of contemporary loveliness or one of rustic charm, this is the perfect bin.
Gone are the piles of paper and precariously balanced towers of cans and bottles, hello Totem 60. Sleek, discreet and a master of waste management.
Trashy this ain’t.
Recycling has never looked so good.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
I love the look of this, and I love Joseph Joseph products too – I have a complete rainbow of their mixing bowls that I simply adore!
Unfortunately though, this bin wouldn’t work for me when it comes to glass recycling – definitely not enough space for all my empty wine bottles! ? The rest of it though is ingenious! Xxx
Hahaha!!!! That did make me laugh!! I must say, the glass does get emptied into the outside recycling box a lot more frequently than everything else… I guess that says a lot about our alcohol consumption too!! LOL!! ;)
Firstly did you take those photos in my brother’s kitchen? It is FREAKILY similar! The bin looks very classy indeed. So neat and clever.
Haha!! NO!! I actually took the pics in my friend’s kitchen — our kitchen is NOT worthy of a blog post at the moment!! And yes — the bin is SO neat and incredibly clever. The best looking — and most practical — bin I’ve ever come across.
omg i need this, I hate the mess that recycling brings, I love Joseph, Joseph so innovative x
Awesome isn’t it? I’m totally with you re the recycling mess — this bin is a genius bit of kit :)
I can’t believe I am genuinely excited by this bin! Hahaha! It looks wonderful! My kitchen is also overrun by recycling so this looks like a perfect solution! xo
Don’t worry Harriet — I was the same when I saw it!! My boy and I had spent a whole afternoon scoping out bins in John Lewis!!! I was totally bowled over by this one!! ;) Glad it’s not just me!!
I love how efficient this is – being built into your fridge is such a great use of space! Fab find and review x
It’s a fab bin — it’s cleared our kitchen of recycling — but it’s not built into the fridge Zoe! The metal unit IS the actual bin!! It does look a bit like a fridge though, I’ll give you that!! ;)
Gosh! What a fancy bin! It looks fabulous! I love the recycling part! xx
It’s fab isn’t it? I’d give houseroom to all their products — so clever and beautifully designed too!
Oh wow! This is ingenious. I love the filter to help with horrible smells. I hate the food bin because it’s always nasty!
Agree — I love all the clever design features of this bin. Such an innovative bit of kit! :)
Wow that is a all in one! Although I wouldn’t think it was a bin when I first saw it!! It looks very stylish in your beautiful kitchen.
I KNOW!! One of my readers thought it was a fridge!!! She has a point — it does look a bit fridge-like!! ;)
Oh wow what a fab product – great to see great design applied to solve a common problem. We are quite lucky that we don’t need to do much sorting as they have switched to using one recycling bin for most of our recycling items (glass, plastic, paper etc). The convenience has definitely made us more keen recyclers.
So clever isn’t it? Makes you wonder why it hasn’t been redesigned before. And that decision by your council is GENIUS!! I wish ours would do the same — it would make life SO much easier!
I am just the kind of person to get enthused by a bin! Our kitchen is only quite small so I need something that doesn’t take up too much room and it looks like this one would fit the bill.
The recycling is the bane of my life. We leave it on the side by the kitchen door which always looks messy. The addition of two young cats to the house has meant that the recycling has become a challenge to them, to see how far they can bat it across the kitchen floor! I need this bin :-)
YES!! I hear you. We have 3 Bengal cats and they think it’s HILARIOUS to drag my piles of recycling all over the house. A dim and distant memory thanks to this awesome bin! :)
This is such a clever idea. We usually leave our paper recycling on the window until someone goes outside. This would stop that and prevent the dogs running off with our empty cartons. It looks super sleek as well. Definitely a winner!
Yep — we have recycling balanced on chairs, the kitchen table — on TOP of the bin!! This Totem 60 has sorted that out completely. Absolutely awesome bit of design :)
It’s rare that a bin looks cool but this looks pretty snazzy. We love our Joseph Joseph Chop2Pot and can’t believe how we ever lived without it so I can’t imagine what it must be like with their recycling bin!
Agree — we have one of those too — it’s awesome isn’t it?! Love their products!
That really is the best bin ever. Isn’t it funny though that back in the day when we used to throw everything in one bin there wasn’t very much of it – just so much packaging now. I am a neat freak too and don’t even have a recycling bin as have to go straight out with it – but I would make room for this bin, it is gorgeous and all the different compartments would satisfy my OCD tendencies just nicely :)
Agree 100% I think it really IS the best bin ever. The handle opens and closes with a very pleasing clunk too — a bit like a swanky sports car. I. Love. It.
:)
I’ve always loved the Joseph Joseph products, very clever practical design but trendy too! Enjoy your bin- tho I’m sure like me you’re forever emptying it!!
Their products are fantastic aren’t they? So innovative — but really stylish too.
I love this bin (if it’s possible to love a bin?). We have wheelie bins for our recyclables and compost, but end up having a big bucket in our porch that we thrown things in before they go outside. I love being able to recycle but I just wish that products came with less packaging in the first place! #HomeEtc
Ohmylife!! YES!!! Me too — what IS it with the packaging?? Why can’t things be in cardboard and paper packaging? Why does it have to be plastic? It drives me nuts.
That’s one hell of a bin! I never thought I’d get excited over rubbish, but I’ll admit, this did make me feel a little warm and fuzzy on the inside :)
Haha!! ME TOO!! My boy and I had been looking at them in John Lewis and fawning all over them as though it was a swanky car — they’re awesome!!
Oh my word! This is genius! I’m so terrible at recycling and in fact we don’t have a bin since we renovated (I’ve been using grocery bags). This would definitely get me into a habit. xx
I’m a bit obsessive about recycling! ;) Although since we’ve been recycling food, you realise just how much landfill waste is eliminated. I think probably 60% of our black bin waste used to be made up of food scraps before we began recycling it all!! Shocking isn’t it? xx
I am actually swooning over your bin, I love it! My kitchen also resembles a recycling plant, I love that we can recycle so much these days but my goodness it’s a faff having stuff everywhere. This is genius x
It’s total genius isn’t it? So clever — and it looks the business!
That is the most stylish bin I have ever seen!!!!!!!!!! Love it – and love recycling, I am a bit of a nerd and separate all our stuff! This is amazing, Jess xx
It really is amazing — I don;t think the pics quite do it justice! :)
I have been lusting over one of these bins as I run a Recycling company (day job) so I am heavily pro recycling xx
Gosh do you??!! That’s fantastic Kara!! I’m massively pro recycling too but it does get annoying when it starts taking over the house — this has revolutionised our kitchen!! :)
My husband would love this! He has been after some of the little recycling bins for in the kitchen. This is so much better! x
It’s amazing isn’t it? The bin part is the perfect size too — such a fab design! :)
I really need one of these. At the moment we have a normal bin and our recycling builds up in a tub on top of the microwave – so unsightly!!! Love this idea though! x
Yep — we were just the same — so many different tubs and bags for various bits of recycling. Makes you want to chuck it all away doesn’t it?!
It looks great – love how it keeps everything together AND looks so stylish. Thanks for hosting #homeetc xx
It looks SO stylish doesn’t it? We had an old fashioned ‘dustbin’ in the kitchen for years — very cool but only good for rubbish!! We ended up with piles of recycling surrounding it!
Wow, that bin looks totally amazing, I love how you can keep all the recycling tidy. Unfortunately I just use a supermarket hessian bag to keep mine…
#homeetc
It’s such a cool design isn’t it? I love how tidy it’s made the kitchen :)