If you’re serious about reusing unwanted materials and you’re eager to start composting, this is the project for you. By building a compost bin out of discarded wooden pallets, you will have a sturdy container for concocting your compost cocktail for less than $20.
You can find wooden pallets for your compost bin almost anywhere: Just ask around at factories, warehouses, stores — even your office building. (We found the wooden pallets for this video in the Urban Farm storage room.) Best yet, most people will give you their unwanted pallets for free because you’re saving them a trip to the garbage dump.
Because you’re building the compost bin yourself, you can add features that fit your needs. We added L-brackets for extra support at the base of the compost bin, a hinged door to give us easier access to the pile, and garden netting around the outside of the bin to better contain the compost materials. If you want to save money or time, you may decide to skip the hinged door but keep the garden netting, or you may forego the L-brackets for simple ziptie attachments.
Get the directions for building your compost bin by watching the video above, and get composting.
