Recycle old pallets into a composting structure.
Recycle plant waste, fallen leaves and grass clippings in a compost pile. Composting turns plant material into a rich soil amendment that improves both garden beds and homemade potting soils. A compost bin helps contain the plant material during the composting process so the pile is less messy and easier to tend. Does this Spark an idea?
Pallet Bins
Wooden pallets are readily available and usually free. Request them from businesses that receive deliveries of products on the pallets. Always ask before taking the pallets, as some businesses reuse them. Use four pallets wired together to create the walls of the bin. If you leave one pallet unattached along one side, it opens like a door and makes accessing the compost pile within simpler. Alternately, consider creating a double bin out of seven pallets. The compost in one bin is left to mature while you begin creating a new pile in the second bin.
Wire Bins
A wire bin is both inexpensive and quick to set up. It works well with both general composting of all plant material as well as composting dead leaves only. Use either chicken wire or concrete reinforcing mesh. Concrete mesh is stiffer and makes a sturdier bin than chicken wire. A compost bin should measure between 3 and 5 feet in diameter, which requires about 10 feet of wire formed into a cylinder. Wire bins are lightweight, which allows you to move the entire bin to a new location once the compost within it is complete and ready to use.
Brick Bins
Brick bins are attractive. They completely camouflage the compost inside, making them a good choice in areas where the bin is completely visible. Any type of brick works well, including house bricks, landscaping pavers and cinder blocks. Fashion a door from a pallet or place the opening to the bin on the nonvisible side of the structure. Brick bins are more expensive to construct than wire or pallet bins, but they last much longer.
Tumbler Bins
A compost tumbler consists of a plastic or metal drum on a stand. Compost materials are placed inside, then the tumbler is turned by a handle on the outside. A tumbler allows you to quickly turn the compost regularly, which helps speed up the composting process. While these bins can be made from barrels and a stand, they are generally purchased. Compost tumblers cannot hold the same amount of plant material as a traditional bin pile, but they do work well for composting small amounts of yard waste.
Tags: plant material, Brick bins, chicken wire, compost pile, composting process, well composting, works well