Composting; Step One: The Bin

For weeks I have been searching for free pallets to build a cubic yard compost bin.  My Dad and Sue hit the jackpot!  The delivered about a dozen old pallets to our house the other day!

The next morning I got to work.  Recently, I have been watching a great web series by the folks at Garden Fork.  They have an awesome video on building a compost bin from old pallets that I have been eager to get into.  Everyone interested in these bins should watch their video.

I had to improvise a bit as I went but it was very easy.  It cost me a few hours labor, some screws, hinges, and a latch.  That is it.

Step 1: get your materials.  Find your pallets.  I used pallets that have already seen their best years so perfect pallets are not needed.  Get your drill, some scrap wood, screws, hinges, latch, and some gloves.

Step 2: set your pallets up on a relatively flat area of ground.  Then stand them up against each other so you can eyeball where your screws are going to go, which side will be your door/front.

Step 3: screw it together.  I did not use and extra brackets or anything.  I just screwed the pallets into themselves.  I had to use two pieces of scrap wood from a broken piece of pallet to make sure it was secure.

Step 4: attach the hinges.  For my, this was the tricky part.  You want to make sure your door side it off the ground by about an inch so that you can get it open and closed easily.  Then make sure the hinges are level and screw them in.

Step 5: install the latch.  This actually seemed like an optional step since my door seemed to stay closed fairly well without it but down the road I may be happy I have the latch.

That is it.  It was an easy task and I didn't even get a splinter (thanks to my gloves)!  Now we have a great use for food that begins to turn as well as a great place to put all the veggie scraps after Kaleigh and I make our special broth!

Check out the outstanding video that I used to help me build this great bin here: