Recently, I decided to dive into a simple but rewarding DIY project: building my own compost bin. The idea came when I noticed our home compost bin couldn’t keep up with our kitchen and garden scraps. I needed a dedicated compost bin at home, especially since I couldn’t always take scraps to the community garden. So, I repurposed a purple storage bin that was collecting dust in the garage and transformed it into a compost bin in less than 5 minutes—without spending a dime!

Compost Bin DIY Purple Bin — Storage container that I converted to compost bin.

In this post, I’ll share how I built an easy compost bin at home for $0. But first, let’s talk about the basics of composting.

According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), “composting is the natural process of recycling organic matter, such as leaves and food scraps, into a valuable fertilizer that can enrich soil and plants.”

Why I Compost

Reduce food waste
Enrich soil for my home’s raised garden beds

If you're new to composting, check out Composting 101 from NRDC for helpful information!

Let’s get started on building your compost bin

Material & Tools Needed:

Drill
Plastic bin (Medium to large size)
Tool to mix the compost (i.e shovel)
Garden Gloves (Optional)
Food scraps (Optional)
Brown Base (Dirt, cardboard box, dead leaves, etc.) (Optional)

Note: The cardboard box needs to be plain.

Step 1: Drill Holes

Using the drill, you will drill 6-8 holes on each side of the plastic bin (lid, bottom and sides) to allow airflow for your compost to continuous breakdown your waste within the container and prevent odors. In addition, the holes allow excess liquid to drain from your compost bin.

Drilled 5 holes on the top and similar hole layout on the bottom and sides of the container.

That’s it you have built your compost bin! If you have food scraps and dirt/cardboard boxes proceed to step two!

Step 2: Create your base first layer

Your brown base layer can consist of any brown base including dirt, cardboard boxes (plain), dead leaves, twigs etc.)

Note: I broke down the cardboard boxes into small pieces to make the composting process easier to breakdown the boxes.

Step 3: Create your green layer

Your green layer can consist of food scraps.

Step 4: Add water

Add water to your plastic bin (now compost bin) to moisten the materials within the bin, NOT soak

Step 5: Mix the brown and green layer

Using a shovel, mix the brown and green layer

Final Thoughts

Not only was this project quick and budget-friendly, but it’s also great knowing I’m reducing waste and creating something beneficial for my garden. Seeing kitchen scraps transform into rich compost is surprisingly satisfying! Plus, composting has turned into a small daily habit that makes me feel more connected to my garden.

If you’ve ever thought about composting, I recommend trying out a DIY approach. With a little creativity and a storage bin, you might find yourself enjoying the process as much as I do.

Creating a Simple Compost Bin: Turning a Storage Bin into a Compost Bin – My DIY Journey

In this post, I’ll share how I built an easy compost bin at home for $0. But first, let’s talk about the basics of composting.

According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), “composting is the natural process of recycling organic matter, such as leaves and food scraps, into a valuable fertilizer that can enrich soil and plants.”

Why I Compost

Reduce food waste

Enrich soil for my home’s raised garden beds

If you're new to composting, check out Composting 101 from NRDC for helpful information!

Let’s get started on building your compost bin

Material & Tools Needed:

Drill

Plastic bin (Medium to large size)

Tool to mix the compost (i.e shovel)

Garden Gloves (Optional)

Food scraps (Optional)

Brown Base (Dirt, cardboard box, dead leaves, etc.) (Optional)

Note: The cardboard box needs to be plain.

Step 1: Drill Holes

Using the drill, you will drill 6-8 holes on each side of the plastic bin (lid, bottom and sides) to allow airflow for your compost to continuous breakdown your waste within the container and prevent odors. In addition, the holes allow excess liquid to drain from your compost bin.

That’s it you have built your compost bin! If you have food scraps and dirt/cardboard boxes proceed to step two!

Step 2: Create your base first layer

Your brown base layer can consist of any brown base including dirt, cardboard boxes (plain), dead leaves, twigs etc.)

Note: I broke down the cardboard boxes into small pieces to make the composting process easier to breakdown the boxes.

Step 3: Create your green layer

Your green layer can consist of food scraps.

Step 4: Add water

Add water to your plastic bin (now compost bin) to moisten the materials within the bin, NOT soak

Step 5: Mix the brown and green layer

Using a shovel, mix the brown and green layer

Final Thoughts

If you’ve ever thought about composting, I recommend trying out a DIY approach. With a little creativity and a storage bin, you might find yourself enjoying the process as much as I do.

What do you like about composting?

Creating a Simple Compost Bin: Turning a Storage Bin into a Compost Bin – My DIY Journey

In this post, I’ll share how I built an easy compost bin at home for $0. But first, let’s talk about the basics of composting.

According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), “composting is the natural process of recycling organic matter, such as leaves and food scraps, into a valuable fertilizer that can enrich soil and plants.”

Why I Compost

Reduce food waste

Enrich soil for my home’s raised garden beds

If you're new to composting, check out Composting 101 from NRDC for helpful information!

Let’s get started on building your compost bin

Material & Tools Needed:

Drill

Plastic bin (Medium to large size)

Tool to mix the compost (i.e shovel)

Garden Gloves (Optional)

Food scraps (Optional)

Brown Base (Dirt, cardboard box, dead leaves, etc.) (Optional)

Note: The cardboard box needs to be plain.

Step 1: Drill Holes

Using the drill, you will drill 6-8 holes on each side of the plastic bin (lid, bottom and sides) to allow airflow for your compost to continuous breakdown your waste within the container and prevent odors. In addition, the holes allow excess liquid to drain from your compost bin.

That’s it you have built your compost bin! If you have food scraps and dirt/cardboard boxes proceed to step two!

Step 2: Create your base first layer

Your brown base layer can consist of any brown base including dirt, cardboard boxes (plain), dead leaves, twigs etc.)

Note: I broke down the cardboard boxes into small pieces to make the composting process easier to breakdown the boxes.

Step 3: Create your green layer

Your green layer can consist of food scraps.

Step 4: Add water

Add water to your plastic bin (now compost bin) to moisten the materials within the bin, NOT soak

Step 5: Mix the brown and green layer

Using a shovel, mix the brown and green layer

Final Thoughts

If you’ve ever thought about composting, I recommend trying out a DIY approach. With a little creativity and a storage bin, you might find yourself enjoying the process as much as I do.

What do you like about composting?

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