How to Create a Compost Container

There are many benefits to making your own kitchen compost container. Composting is an excellent way to recycle vegetable, fruit and yard excess. When composting is done correctly, compost worms will transform your waste into highly nutritious soil that can be used in your garden. Plus, composting cuts down on the amount of trash you throw away. Creating a compost container is moderately easy.

Things You'll Need

• 10-gallon plastic container
• Drill
• Newspaper
• Waste
• Red wiggler worms

Instructions

1. Buy a simple 10-gallon plastic container with a lid from a department or home store. Using an electric drill and the smallest bit you have, drill three small holes in the lid, three on the bottom of the container, and two on each side. This allows excess moisture to escape the container, but keeps small insects, like fruit flies, away from the compost's decomposing waste.

2. Tear up pieces of old newspaper and lightly crumple them. Fill the container about halfway with these scraps of newspaper. Place your waste atop the newspaper. Waste may include parts of fruits or vegetables, rinsed egg shells and yard waste, like dead flowers or plants, leaves or branches.

3. Add red wiggler worms into the compost container. They will break down the waste over the course of a few days, turning it into a nutrient-rich soil. Things like moldy food, chips, candy, fish, poultry and any citrus fruits, like lemons, limes or oranges, should never be fed to the worms. A 10-gallon container can hold 500 to 1,000 worms.

4. Use a large spoon or shovel to mix the compost container once a week. This ensures the worms get to all the waste. If the decomposing matter in the compost container gets too wet or squishy, add more newspaper for absorption. If done correctly, compost should not stink, so you can store the compost container under the sink or in a kitchen pantry. Always store the container in a place that doesn't receive direct sunlight.

Tips & Warnings

• Used coffee filters and grounds can be put into the compost container. Both the grounds and filters are safe for the worms, as long as you don't add too many coffee grounds in one week, because that could make the compost acidic.

• Avoid putting nonedible items, like rubber, aluminum, plastic, sponges, glass or any other nonbiodegradable materials, in the compost container.

References

• Compost Worms
• Compost FAQs

Resources

• Compost Bin