Pallet Compost Bin

The other outdoor/garden related project we planned to complete this year is a compost bin. Since moving into our home, we have been attempting to reduce waste by composting our kitchen waste. Because of what we eat – mostly fresh fruits and veggies many coming from our garden, my mother’s garden, a friend’s garden or, of course, the grocery store – we produce a lot of kitchen scraps. We save our kitchen scraps in an empty lidded ice cream bucket (Hooray for reuse!) and empty it daily into a large lidded trash can behind our house. We also add lawn debris such as leaves and shredded paper to the compost can.

Wanting to increase compost production and have the ability to store/compost more lawn debris, The Mister and I began brainstorming to find a simple, cost effective way to build a compost bin. After stopping by our local hardware store, we inquired about the stack of pallets outside the store. The store owner kindly allowed us to take home a stack of pallets and we wasted no time taking them apart with a reciprocating saw. We saved some of the cut pallet wood for a future project.

Using leftover 4x4’s from our fence project, The Mister then cut posts for each corner of the pallet and fastened five pallets together to create a box with two openings. The plan is to put a door at each opening and wrap the bin with wire in the future. So far, Her Majesty has not ventured into the compost bin, but we primarily put yard and garden debris into the bin. Kitchen scraps continue to be placed in the lidded trash can.

The leaves are definitely falling now and they will soon be collected into the compost bin. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to add some beautiful, rich compost to the garden beds.