Homemade heaps

One of the reasons many gardeners want to recycle their food and garden waste is to lower their carbon footprint and contribute to the welfare of the planet. Buying a manufactured bin is a practical solution for many, but creating your own from recycled materials reduces the pollution that industry and transportation generate. Plastic is especially polluting, both during its manufacture and when it goes to a landfill. Homemade compost bins can be easy to construct, and some may take less time to put together than a trip to your DIY store or garden center.

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Straight stems from a pollarded or coppiced tree can be woven together tightly to create a beautiful bin.

Easy bin bags

The ideal compost heap measures 1 cubic yard (1 cubic meter), which is about the same size as the average builders’ bag of gravel or soil that you or your neighbors may have had delivered for use in the garden. The bags are made from durable cotton or man-made fabric and the only alteration required to transform them into a compost bin is to cut out a large square from the base so the decomposer invertebrates can find their way in. Remember to also partly cover the composting material to help insulate the contents.

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Builders’ bags can be transformed into practical compost bins within minutes.

lumber constructions

One of the easiest ways to make a wooden bin is with pallets, which are widely available from garden centers, DIY stores, and online. Alternatively, you could construct a more attractive bin from lumber boards, screwed together with wood offcuts, to create four walls, with the gaps between each board no wider than 1in (2.5cm). The bin will then provide good insulation and prevent too much air from flowing through and cooling down or drying out the contents. Attach the four walls using stainless-steel screws and wooden corner blocks or metal joining plates. Old wooden floorboards, scaffold boards, or fencing panels would be ideal materials for such a bin; other options include house doors or kitchen cabinets, if you can find some that are roughly the same size (or can be cut down to fit).

Source wooden items from salvage yards and freecycle websites, but make sure that the lumber has not been treated with toxic chemicals such as creosote, which are hazardous to health.

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Old wooden floorboards can be reused to construct a smart bin in the garden.

Heaps of hay

Transforming a few bales of hay (or straw) into a practical compost heap is an inexpensive yet effective choice for a large garden or allotment. Hay bales offer excellent insulation, while allowing enough air in to create ideal conditions for the decomposers. Before buying, check that the hay is from an organic farm and it has been grown without the use of pesticides and herbicides, which may leach into your compost and kill your decomposers and plants.

To make the bin, simply set the hay bales in a square or rectangular shape to form three or four sides, staggering them like a brick wall for stability if you are creating a multilayer structure. You can also knock in some wooden posts around the outer edges to keep the bales in place. Once the heap is filled, partly cover the contents with a waterproof material. The hay will gradually decompose, along with the contents, but the walls should remain intact for a year or so. You can then mix the decomposing hay into a new bin, constructed in the same way.

TOP TIP Hay bales can be very heavy, so ask a friend to help you move them into place to prevent injury.

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Bales of hay retain heat and help to speed up the composting process.

Other options

Be inventive when thinking of materials that could be used to create your compost bin. Try weaving together the straight stems cut from pollarded or coppiced trees in your garden, which will make a beautiful bin that will not need to be hidden from view. If you do not have straight stems, use a mallet to knock large, irregular-sized prunings into the ground to form a semi-circle and line the structure with corrugated card for extra insulation.

Old paving slabs or bricks can also be used to construct a box, or you can repurpose an old trashcan. To transform a plastic trashcan, use a sharp knife, hand saw, or jigsaw to cut out a large hole in the bottom that will allow invertebrates to enter and moisture to drain out.

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You can use any nontoxic recycled materials, including old concrete slabs that may otherwise end up in a landfill.

Making Compost | HOMEMADE HEAPS

The heat is on

If there are large gaps in your homemade bin due to the materials used, insulate it by lining the structure with layers of corrugated cardboard, other paper packaging material, or old wool clothing. The biodegradable materials will gradually decompose but more slowly than the other contents of your bin. You can also use wooden offcuts to cover up any holes or gaps, or try wrapping the outside of a bin with reused bubble plastic packaging. Do not add plastic to the inside edges of the bin, as it may harm the decomposers and pollute your finished compost.

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