Things You'll Need:
- 2 same-sized rubber storage totes with lid
- Drill
- Yard waste and leaves
- Newspaper
- 1 lb. of worms
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Step 1
Obtain two rubber storage totes of similar size. Rubbermaid bins found at your local home improvement store or Wal Mart will work great for this purpose. Make sure at least one bin has the matching lid. A 50 gallon bin is a good size for composting, as it is large enough to hold a good amount of waste, but not so large that it is cumbersome. The bins should be able to be stacked within one another.
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Step 2
Drill air and drainage holes into your bins and lid. Air holes should be located on the side of the bins and be evenly spaced. These holes will allow oxygen to reach the composting materials and speed up the decomposition process. The more air, the better the environment for your worms. Make sure there are plenty of air holes on the lid, as well. Drainage holes should be on the bottom of the bin, evenly spaced and about a quarter inch in diameter. These holes will allow liquid run-off and extra moisture to exit the bins, and will also be the pathways allowing the worms to move between containers to find fresh, nutrient-rich food.
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Step 3
Fill the bottom of one bin with leaves, twigs, grass clippings and other yard waste. Make sure there is enough material to come in contact with the bottom of the second bin when stacked. Add shredded strips of newspaper to the yard waste. This will create a comfortable bedding for your worms and kick-start decomposition.
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Step 4
Add the worms to the bottom bin with bedding. Your setup should be able to comfortably house about 1,000 worms, or the equivalent of a pound. A larger container could easily hold many more worms. Consult the resources of this article for a good place to buy worms.
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Step 5
Place the empty top bin into the bottom bin containing the worms.
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Step 6
Spread organic waste and food scraps into the empty bin. As the bin fills and the worms eat through the materials in the bottom bin, they will move upwards to the fresher materials. Always keep a lid on the top bin to prevent animals and pests from disturbing your worms.
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Step 7
When you have noticed that the worms have moved to the top bin, you can separate the bins and collects the decomposed materials from the lower bin. This composted waste makes great fertilizer for the yard and garden. Be sure to place any straggler worms back into the top bin.
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Step 8
Replace the now empty bin into the bin housing your worms. This will be your new waste bin and will start the process again, allowing you to continuously compost.
