Super Easy Recycled Compost Bin

Composting is a great weapon anyone can use to combat food waste and create healthy soil for gardening, but it can be pretty hard to start! I kept throwing out fruit and vegetable scraps right alongside plastic wrappers and classic trash, not because I didn't want to compost, but because the costs and setup always seemed intimidating to me. But one day I realized I have everything I need already to make a compost bin, and chances are you do to!

This Instructable shows you how to create a simple compost bin, but there are other, more in-depth guides if you want to make a more complicated one after you learn the basics!

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A good compost bin requires generally four things: Moisture, Oxygen, Greens, and Browns.

Greens: Fruit and vegetable scrap, grass, leaves, coffee grounds, etc.

Browns: Twigs, dead leaves, dirt, straw, small pieces of cardboard, etc.

NO animal waste, meat, or dairy products!

Buy whatever materials if needed, but the best situation is where you use supplies that are lying around that you can reuse!

1. Any large to medium bin. Storage containers, unused or broken trash cans, or old plant pots (I used a medium plastic plant pot)
2. Box-cutter or Drill
3. Netting* or lid that can fit over container
4. Shovel for dirt
5. Greens and Browns

*May need a stapler if using netting

Oxygen

In order for the compost bin to be most effective, decomposers need good air flow to do their job and breathe!

Use a box-cutter to cut narrow openings a few inches apart all throughout the pot.

Alternatively you can drill small holes throughout the bin.

Brown Layer #1

Depending on the size of the container you may have to scale up some of the layers.

The first layer should be enough small sticks or straw to cover the bottom. I additionally added a cover of dead leaves to fully complete the base.

Green Layer #1

Each Green Layer adds Nitrogen into the bin, which combined with Carbon from the Brown Layers it creates the resources microorganisms and decomposers need to survive.

Next, I added a healthy level of grass. My lawn was growing a bit long and so I was able to pick some directly from the excess, but you can also substitute this for other Green materials.

Brown Layer #2

The more decomposers in the pile, the better! When digging up some dirt I made sure to toss in the worms I happened to see, but it's not strictly necessary.

After the grass I added a layer of dirt from the garden. Feel free to add more dead leaves here as well.

Green Layer #2

For this Green Layer I used leaves from a fallen tree as well as other Green material I found around the yard.

Brown Layer #3

My compost bin at this point needed a small amount of extra dirt at the top with a few broken roots/stems and worms added for an extra kick!

Wet Dirt

It is a good idea to occasionally spray and/or mix the compost to cycle the nutrients around!

I gave the top layer a nice layer of water to dampen the spoil. From here on, you can just add your food scraps! Before taking it to the compost bin, I suggest keeping any compostable waste in a sealed container so bugs don't find it inside, or keep it outside in a container. Kind of like taking out the trash or recycling, now you can take out the compost!

The Cover

The top depends on the situation. I used a net that I found lying around and stapled it to the sides, leaving an opening where I could put my compostable materials. I did this so there could be good air flow and easy access, but it is also a good idea to put a lid of sorts, even just a loose piece of wood to keep the moisture in and unwanted bugs out!

And that's all you need! If you want any more information this is a great resource that I used for some of my research in composting: epa.gov

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment with any tips or tricks that you've learnt!

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