Composting can be a great way to recycle organic, biodegradable items that you would normally throw away. While those items would still break down at the landfill, why throw them out when you can use the nutrient rich organics for your own garden? Using a compost bin like this, you can have fresh top-soil dirt in 2-3 months. Let’s get started.
Here are some supplies we will need to start on a small-medium (movable) compost bin.
- A small to medium sized plastic bin with cover
- I’m using an 18 gallon (68 liter) plastic tote.
- A half gallon or gallon size bucket (with lid).
- An ice cream bucket works great. If you don’t have one that big, a quart size yogurt container will do the trick too.
- Leaves from the yard or newspaper (shredded or torn to smaller pieces). Small pieces of cardboard will work too.
- Dirt
- The main reason for this is because the bacteria in the dirt will help jump start the decomposing process of compost.
- Organic scraps from the kitchen
- See the list below for ideas of what you can compost.
Step 1: Choose a Compost Bin
You can use a plastic container you already have on hand or buy one for $5 to $10. I’ve chosen this 18 gallon (68 liter) plastic tote. A bigger container will work, but it might be heavier if you plan to move it later. Make sure your container has a tight fitting lid to keep in the moisture and to keep any animals out.
Step 2: Drill Holes in the Top Lid and Container Bottom
Drill around 8-10 holes in the lid of your compost bin and then do the same to the bottom of the container. This allows airflow for aeration purposes and to drain any excess water. Aeration helps the microorganisms to breakdown the organic scraps and prevents the compost from producing too much of an odor.
Step 3: Create your Carbon Base
Fill the bottom 1/8 to 1/4 of your container with dried leaves or shredded paper (newspaper, scrap paper, etc.). This provides a carbon base for your compost (also known as “browns”). If you use any sort of paper, make sure there are no small pieces of plastic or metal staples attached to the paper. I used some leaves that I still had in the corner of my yard.
Step 4: Add Dirt
Add a few inches of dirt to the top of your base. In my case, I had ¼ leaves and added around ¼ dirt. The dirt seemed to pack down the leaves once on top. So I added dirt until I thought there was about ¼ in the container.
Step 5: Add Organic Kitchen Scraps
Add your organic, biodegradable scraps. I’ve been saving kitchen scraps for a couple weeks already. I added bananas, egg shells, dryer lint, paper towels/napkins, and a lot of tea (both loose leaf and tea bags).
Here is a brief list of items you can and cannot compost.
Do Compost:
- Food scraps
- Fruit and Vegetables (a.k.a. veggies… haha)
- Meat and bones (table scraps)
- Non-liquid dairy (like cheese)
- Grain products (bread)
- Coffee grounds and paper filters
- Tea and paper tea bags (some tea bags used to or still do have staples… take those out)
- Paper products
- Napkins
- paper towels
- Newspaper (small pieces or shredded)
- Paper to-go boxes (non-coated)
- Cardboard (cut or tear the cardboard into small pieces and make sure it’s non-coated)
- Dryer lint
- Plants
- Leaves
- Small sticks/twigs or Wood shavings
- Plants and weeds (do not include diseased plants or weeds that have gone to seed)
- Lawn clippings or thatch (depending on the yard, clippings may include weed seeds)
- Potting soil
- Items labeled BPI Certified Compostable or ASTM D6400 Certified
Don’t Compost:
- Rotten items from the “Do Compost” list
- Dog or small pet waste (could carry diseases)
- Non-Organic Waste
- Plastic bags
- Plastic items (basically anything plastic)
- Styrofoam
- Glass
- Metals
- Foil or plastic-coated products
- Hazardous and medical waste
- Hygiene products (face wipes, cotton balls/pads, dental floss, etc.)
- Liquids (any liquid other than water)
Both of these lists are not all-inclusive. If you are unsure about something being compostable, do a quick search online to find out. Over time you will find your favorites or most convenient items to compost. It’s so much easier than you might think!
Step 6: Stir In The Compost
Stir in the organic items you’ve added so that most or all of it is covered with dirt. This will help for the organic scraps to breakdown better. After stirring your compost it will look something like the picture below.
Step 7: Moisten
You will need to moisten the compost with water. The simplest way is to use a garden hose with a spray nozzle. Make the compost damp, but not soaking wet. If too wet, your compost will stink more and could take longer to decompose because the balance is off. If it ever does get too wet, simply add more carbon based materials (leaves, paper, lawn thatch, etc.).
Step 8: Find a Place for your Compost Bin
The best location for your compost bin is in the shade out of direct sunlight. Direct sunlight can dry out your compost and kill off the bacteria breaking down the organics. The nice thing about this compost bin is the versatility in where you can place it. Placing your compost bin away from the house will help keep it out of the way and will keep any possible odors (or investigating critters) at a distance.
Step 9: Collect your Organic Scraps
Using the small bucket mentioned in the beginning, you can collect your table scraps, fruits, veggies, coffee, tea, egg shells, etc. Having a lid is nice to keep any bad smells from floating around the kitchen. Honestly, I have not noticed much of an odor from the scraps bucket as of yet. Any possible smell can depend on what you put in there.
Step 10: Add to and Stir your Compost
Periodically you will need to empty out your scraps bucket into the compost bin. For me this is about once a week. When adding new scraps to the compost, I’ll stir the compost, add the new scraps, and then stir it again to cover the new scraps with dirt. This ensures that your compost will get additional oxygen for the bacteria breaking down the organics. Repeat this step (Step 10) as many times as you need to. Either until your container is full or until you have enough compost to meet your gardening needs.
When you’ve determined that you have enough compost, let it finish breaking down the bigger organics that you may have added.
Note: If you find mold growing on the compost, this is normal. Mold signifies full decomposition of the organics. Mold is good for compost as long as it is mixed in properly.
Step 11: You’re Done!!!
After all the organics have finished breaking down, you can use the dirt for your gardening needs. To start another batch of compost, you can use some of your fresh compost instead of generic dirt in Step 4.
Note: There are some things like wood chips, small sticks or bigger items you may have composted that will take longer to decompose. You can either take those out or keep them for the next batch.
Congratulations!! You made the best compost ever!!