We use a cloth diaper service for days, and Seventh Generation diapers at night. This means that we have three dirty diaper bins - Trash (the disposables), Wet, and "Messy." These three bins are identical cheap latch-top trash bins that cost us $7 each. We line them with regular kitchen bag liners. With the "Messy" bag, we twist it shut to minimize air movement after each diaper is placed in it. We change the trash at least once a week and while sometimes odors can build up a little in the "Messy" bin, it is has never been a huge issue - we just leave the can out in the sun for the day and that cures the odor for at least a month or two. The cost of the three bins was way less than most diaper pail systems and it has lasted us for a year, so I'm confident in saying it was a good match for our needs.

However, your child might be different, so I've brought in another expert (my sister) to weigh in on some other options. Her diaper situation differs from mine in two important ways: She uses exclusively conventional diapers (like Huggies, etc.) and her daughter has multiple bowel movements in a day (whereas my son is more of an every other day kinda kid). Here's what she had to say:

We're already on our second diaper bin. The first, a Diaper Dekor, just got so heinous-smelling that it had to go. We have a Diaper Champ now, and I am much more careful in my cleaning processes. Not quite as far as some (who scrub theirs with bleach solution then let it dry in the sun every six weeks), but I spray Lysol in it every time I change the bag. We also have taken to wrapping all poopy diapers in a plastic bag before dumping them in the bin. This is a pretty common practice, but I've started using not just the usual plastic bag from CVS, but any plastic bag-like item around the house. This includes the bag from the english muffins, the plastic wrap the toilet paper comes in - anything that can create a plastic barrier. These oddly-shaped bags would otherwise go in our trash, so it's great that I can reuse them. It also bolsters our bag supply, which runs low when I do the shopping, because I use reusable bags. So, reuse all the weird bags from around the house as poopy-diaper bags. Save the plastic bags for craft projects.

Might I add that as dog owners that use cloth grocery bags, the flimsy plastic grocery bags are like gold in my house. So it is good to think about my sister's technique for preserving the supply, in case we ever need to change our system. - Leigh G.