Making Your Own Compost Bin

Making your own compost bin is one of the first steps to going green. By placing food and other organic scraps into a compost pile you reduce the amount of trash that goes to landfills and you recycle your compost into organic soil for your home garden.

To make a home compost bin you will need:

· A plastic storage bin that holds at least 10 gallons.
· Drill
· Shredded newspaper.
· Soil


Step 1 – Find a location for your compost bin. Place the compost bin near the kitchen. A patio or back door stoop will be fine. The bin needs to be located close enough to the kitchen that using the compost bin will not be a hassle.

Step 2 - Prepare your bin. Air needs to flow into the compost so you will want to drill a line of small holes moving around the entire compost bin bin will work just fine. You can add another row of holes, however, one row will be fine.

Step 3 – Start using the compost bin. Start the compost bin with a mixture of shredded newspaper and soil. Close the lid and shake to ensure the mixture is shaken properly. Put the bin back in it's normal location and begin adding kitchen waste to the compost bin. You can also add yard scraps such as weeds, grass trimmings, and weeds to the compost bin.

Step 4 – Maintain your compost bin. Maintenance for your compost bin is easy. Every other day go to your bin and while holding the lid firmly in place shake the bin a few times. This lets the compost move around a bit and allows air to get between the layers. You can also move the contents of your compost bin around with a small garden shovel but shaking the compost bin works just as well.

Compost from your compost bin will be available for use in about a month's time. Prior to using any of the compost be sure to work it through a sifter and replace any large pieces back into the compost bin. The bin can remain outside during all weather conditions and compost can be harvested from the bin through out the year.