I have already discussed our plans for the stretch of land down the side of the house in a previous post. This stretch of land also represented the perfect spot for a compost bin. I once lived in Surrey, England, and the local council sent us a free compost bin, but being a student household, we weren’t there long enough to benefit from it. Unfortunately, upon arrival at this house, Waitakere City Council did not furnish us with a free compost bin. A trip to the local shops also revealed them to cost around $50 NZD, which isn’t a massive cost for what it provides, but I wanted to do better. That’s when I spotted the plastic drum tucked down the side of the house. This plastic drum became our compost bin, which was a darn sight better than throwing the drum away and buying a new compost bin!

The first thing I did was cut both ends off the drum. Using an old saw, I scored a straight line, parallel with the top edge of the drum and then began to cut along it, removing the top. I then did the same with the bottom, leaving just the body of the drum, open at both ends.

A short length of leftover framing timber was cut into three cubes, roughly 10cm in length. I then used some old screws that I’d found elsewhere in the house to screw them to the body, roughly 2cm from the top, on the inside of the bin. These are to hold the lid of the bin.

I screwed a longer piece of framing timber into the bottom of the bin, to act as a handle. This made up the lid.

The final job was selecting a position for the compost bin. Due to the lid’s design, a sheltered place was preferable, as I didn’t want it collecting too much rain. It is also important, for the creation of compost, that the bin isn’t too cold.

Having selected a location, I drove the body of the bin into the ground slightly, by rotating it and pushing down at the same time. This helps with keeping it in position. I placed the lid on top and there it was! My own, home made, compost bin, made entirely from re-used materials.

The only thing I am not entirely happy with is the blue colour. Whilst this has been partly covered by the vine growth on the side, it has not completely solved this problem. Any ideas will be greatly accepted…