How to build an indoor (or outdoor) compost bin

Here's an easy and cheap way to start composting your household waste and turn it into black gold. I literally didn't spend a dime on this project, I found everything lying around my house. Altogether it probably would've cost around $25.00. I'm doing this project in my basement, but this can be applied to a much smaller space, or even outdoors. Whether you live in a house, apartment, RV, dungeon, YOU can compost easily and effectively. Contrary to popular belief, composting (when done correctly) should give off little to no odor, so using the excuse that you don't want your house to smell like rotting garbage goes out the window.

Large Composting bins. Can be smaller or bigger.

I could go on and on about why everyone should compost and the benefits of it (and I probably will at some point), but for now I'll just give you the How-To.

Materials for bin:

• Container with lid
• Drill or sharp object to make holes
• Tray for excess water
• Stilts or supports (nothing fancy)
• Stirring tool (must be long and sturdy)

Basic materials for composting:

• Soil to start off, layering throughout as your compost grows.
• Dry, paper-like ingredients ( newspaper, leaves, yard trimmings, sawdust, printer paper, cardboard, wood shavings, etc. Anything chemical free is generally ok.) 
• Wet materials (These are things like your kitchen scraps, veggies, fruits, eggshells, coffee grounds, etc.)

NOTE: The list above for acceptable materials is very conservative. Almost ANYTHING can be composted. Those people who say that meat, bones and oils can not be composted are FULL OF IT. However, composting these materials can complicate matters, and require a more tentative approach. For example, composting meat can attract bugs and smells, IF you don't bury it in your compost and layer your materials effectively. For this project I'm gonna focus on keeping it simple, just know that you can compost those supposed "taboo" compost items, it just requires more work and thought.

Step 1: Grab a container

Large garbage bin

It can be a small container. Or a huge container. It can be a metal garbage bin, or a plastic garbage bin, or a metal bucket, or a plastic bucket. It really doesn't matter, as long as it's clean, has a lid, is big enough to hold your compostable waste, (and then some), and you can drill some holes into it. If you live in an apartment you might wanna tuck it away under the sink like you would a trash can, so naturally it should be smaller. If you live in a dungeon you could construct a mighty fortress of a container big enough to hold your dragon dung. It's really up to you.



Step 2: Drill holes for air flow

Drill, stab, or karate kick holes in your bin (depending on type of bin and level of karate skills) around the rim and in the bottom. As long as you have a good mix of materials going into your bin, these simple small holes will make sure your compost heap gets the aerobic* action it needs.

Bottom holes

Rim holes

Step 3: Put your bin on stilts

Circus training not required. Now that we've got these holes in the bottom, place your bin on some kind of support to keep it off the ground. I used 2x4's, but you could use bricks, cinder blocks, tiny elves, whatever floats your boat. Along with this step, you'll need a tray to place underneath your bin to catch debris and excess liquid. This will also allow you to get a sense of your material balance. If there's a lot of water draining from your bin, or if you find yourself retching from the stench upon approaching your heap, you need more dry stuff like shredded newspaper, straw, sawdust, wood shavings, paper, anything that's OK to compost and soak up that juice.

Aluminum tray and stilts

Step 4: Start composting

 First you want a layer of soil, maybe a couple inches, but depending on your container whatever seems like a good base. Then, throw on a good layer of shredded dry stuff. If it's leaves or sawdust, you're good to go, but things like newspaper and cardboard should be shredded as much as possible.  Now you can start adding your wet stuff, but not too much. Once you have a semi full layer of wet stuff, cover it with more dry stuff (or sooner, depending on the volume you're composting.) Remember, you want your ratio of wet stuff to be lower than your dry stuff, and if your compost is excessively leaking or stinking, it's too saturated and needs more dry stuff. After a few alternating layers of this you're gonna wanna add more soil, not a huge amount but a good sprinkling.

Step 5: Patience and turning

A pitchfork works great for turning

If you're like me, and are excited to see a finished product, you're running around your house searching for things you could throw in your heap, really just as an excuse to see if anything's happening, but take a deep breath. It will take time. How much time depends on your materials and ratio of wet to dry, and your turning method. Some people, who have their composting down to a perfect science, almost never turn their piles. But generally, especially for an indoor bin, you're gonna wanna stir it about once a week. And you don't need to wait til it's full to start turning, whenever you feel like you've got a good mix of everything, stir it up. If everything goes according to plan, you can have garden-ready compost in around a month, but don't get discouraged if it takes longer. Experiment, and see what works best for you and your situation, every compost pile's gonna be different.


Tips and tricks:

• Shred your materials as small as you can, this will allow them to break down faster. It's gonna seem tedious after a while, but it'll be worth it in the long run.
• Keep your shredded dry materials on the ready next to your bin, this way you can throw them on right as you add your wet stuff. This should eliminate ANY chance of foul smell.
• Get a second bin going. Your first one might fill up faster than you think, and this way you can have one bin that your stirring and letting stew, while you have one that you can keep adding waste to. Plus, if you want a finished product faster, adding more waste to an almost completely composted heap is kind of redundant.
• It seems stupid to not put all of your waste (especially if it's organic) into your pile, but if you don't know what you're doing adding something like meat or even dairy products could have undesirable effects. So be vigilant, maybe try adding a little, and if it works the first time, try it in slightly larger quantities the next time. Remember to layer, and cover wet with dry.