How to compost for beginners: the easy 2-trash can method

I admit it: I am a lazy composter. So, when we decided to start composting, I wanted to find the easiest way to handle our kitchen scraps.

Solution? Garbage bin composters = NO MAINTENANCE.

• Why Trash Can Composting?
• Tools & Supplies: Preparation
• Instructions: Create Your Own
• For More Information

WHY TRASH CAN COMPOSTING?

Well, green readers, I'm trying to put a little less waste into landfills and a little more free, organic fertilizer into my square foot garden box.

However, as much as I love the environment, I am also poor AND lazy. So I decided to make my own composter, tailored to my fix-it-and-forget-it mentality.

The trash bin composter is perfect, you simply:

1. Use a small kitchen compost bin for daily waste.
2. Empty kitchen bin into one of the outdoor trash cans until it is full.
3. Then, start filling up the other garbage bin.

By the time the 2nd can is full, the first has turned to yummy garden compost, with NO TURNING OR MAINTENANCE on your part.

KINDS of compost I've thrown in my cans with no ill effects:

• brown (leaves & yard waste)
• green (vegetable waste)
• OTHER (meat/animal by-products)

ADDED BONUS: the cans only smell when I open them to put in more waste.

TOOLS & SUPPLIES: Preparation

1. Buy or find 2 galvanized steel trash cans.
   • Quality construction: each bin must have a tight-fitting lid and sound seams.
   • Size of can: This depends on your household. 30-gallon bins turned out to be WAY too big for my 2-person household.
2. Borrow a corded drill.
   Don't use a cordless drill. Drilling through metal = a need for power.
3. Borrow a big drill bit.
   • One needs at least a 3/8" bit.
   • I splurged and bought a 1" two-piece, bi-metal hole saw bit and pilot bit, because it goes through metal well and because I thought I might use it later to make more rain barrels.
4. Borrow a shovel/mattock for digging.
   We had to use a mattock (the mongrel version of a pick axe), to get through the hard-packed clay in our backyard.
5. Borrow a tape measure.
6. Find a place to bury trash can composters.
   Somewhere where:
   • the possible smell won't bother you/your neighbors
   • the sight of half-buried trashcans won't bother you/your neighbors
   • you have (relatively) easy access from your kitchen
7. Find a place to drill safely.
   I used the concrete patio in our back yard, you might use a similar concrete surface in your patio, garage, driveway, etc.
8. Safety gear: goggles, gloves, shoes, long sleeves and trousers.
   Oops - my nephew forgot the long pants!

INSTRUCTIONS: Create Your Own

Don your safety gear. Or have your helpful nephew do so. Gather your tools in your drilling location. Drill 10-20 drainage holes in bottom 1/3 of each garbage can. Smaller drill bits = more holes. Be careful not to let your drill overheat from effort: I have a really old, wimpy drill, and I had to take some breaks to give both the drill and my nephew's arm muscles a rest. Clean drilling area - as the metal shavings, etc. can be dangerous for the unshod and for vehicle tires. Measure diameter of trash can bottoms. Dig 2 holes - near each other, for ease of access. Hole diameter: a bit larger than trashcan bottoms Hole depth: enough for can to be buried 1/2 or 2/3 under ground. Bury cans: make sure that that the holes you drilled in the garbage bins are at least a handspan underneath the soil when you bury the garbage bins. This allows water and air and small bugs in and out for natural composting, but keeps bigger animals and bugs from accessing your prime leftovers. Attach lids. I saw suggestions for using bungee cords to keep larger animals from getting into the bins. However, the squirrels, birds, feral cats, and opposums in my suburban-ish neighborhood have yet to get into my bungee-less cans. Clean and store tools.

For More Information:

• Home Made Food Waste Composter (PDF: Seattle Public Utilities)
• The Underground Composter (Mother Earth News)
• How Composting Works (HowStuffWorks.com)
• How to Build a Compost Bin (Univ. of Missouri Extension)
• Composting (EPA)
• Florida's Online Composting Center