HomeDepot.com
If you’ve ever contemplated composting at home you know that the plastic bins that hold household and yard waste are expensive, impossible to move, and rodent-prone. I know a low-cost solution!
Store-bought compost bins, like the one above, cost more than $100. (Would you believe Home Depot sells a composter that is $398?) Once the bins fill with waste, they can burst at the seams but are too heavy to relocate. The containers are open on the bottom, enticing raccoons and rats to dig a hole for easy trash access.
However, it is very easy to make your own composting bins from empty buckets. DIY power! Here’s what you need:
- 1 or more 5-gallon empty Homer buckets with lid (they are about $3 at Home Depot)
- A screwdriver
- A 1/4 or 1/2 inch drill bit
Put the lid on the bucket and drill 11 holes into it with the screwdriver and drill bit. Try making an inner circle with 5 holes and an outer circle with 6 holes on the lid. Next, turn the bucket on its side and make 15 more holes, spreading them out. Flip the bucket over and make seven final holes.
Voila! You have your very own composter. The holes let moisture out and the 5-gallon buckets are light enough, even when full, that you can easily turn and shake them to hasten the composting process. The tight lid deters vermin. If you want to collect the juice from the composter, it is smelly but great for plants.
Once you fill your bucket with a mix of food waste and green debris, the compost will be ready in about six weeks. Expect the volume to shrink to half its original heft.
July 8th, 2010 at 11:30 am
The City of LA runs great free composting workshops at a site in Griffith Park, and also sells very-low-cost composters. The info is here: http://www.ci.la.ca.us/san/solid_resources/recycling/composting/index.htm
July 8th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
LOVE the composter idea! I’m going to try it… I don’t “do” drills, though, so I’m going to take a large nail with hammer to make the holes… will get out my aggressions just fine, I’m sure.
July 8th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Fabulous idea! Now I know what to do with those empty laundry soap containers from Costco, besides collecting water in the shower (while it’s warming up). Biggest plus for me is the lighter weight, ease of using, and the fact that I can even have 2 going at the same time in different areas of my garden. Since I rarely use my garbage disposal, and collect scraps from meal prep and leavings, I should be able to build up my compost supply in short time. Thanks for the great suggestions!
July 8th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
This is a most excellent suggestion. We live in an RV about half the time, as my dh is a travel nurse. I generally haul a bunch of plants and gardening supplies around with. A long-timer in the RV park where we were last year had a compost bin, and I saved scraps in a little bucket and donated them. But since then I feel continuously guilty throwing them out. Now I don’t have to!
July 9th, 2010 at 5:37 am
@EllieD and DeniseinArk Glad you can use my idea. I, too, like the lightweight containers.
July 9th, 2010 at 10:15 am
If portability isn’t an issue, and you have the space a really INEXPENSIVE way to compost is to dig a large hole or trench and throw your GARDEN clippings into it. I don’t know that I would put kitchen scraps as this method probably won’t deter rodants. We do this at our community garden as we have so much after awhile it just isn’t effective to have multiple composters. Takes a little longer for larger clippings, but you get great dirt out of it!
July 11th, 2010 at 2:16 am
I have a professional bin like the one in your opening picture. DWP sells them for $20 (not $200 to $400!!!) at Griffith park 4th Saturday of the month. I put a sheet of quarter inch hardware cloth (a wire mesh) under it. Cost of the mesh was about $1.50 at OSH. The animals can’t get in, but the earthworms and insects can. They help in the composting process. My bin and mesh system is 10 years old and still working well!
July 30th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
I found that using an old ice bucket, with lid, is a great way to collect veggie scraps in the kitchen. No smell, it is insulated, pretty good size. Once it is full I carry it out to the compost pile to empty and then just rinse it out with the garden hose. If I had to go out to the compost pile everytime I hadveggie scraps I wouldn’t do it, but this makes it easy.
July 30th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
I don’t have an ice bucket that I can use for this purpose, but I do use an aluminum bowl lined with a plastic bag from the produce section of the grocery store. The bag can be closed enough that the scraps can be accumulated until it’s time to put them in the compost. Since the bags can be recycled, I’m reducing/reusing/recycling in addition to adding to my garden. A win-win situation all the way around! BTW ~ Fish bones can also be put in the compost, but no other meat products/waste.