How to Make Your Own Tumble Composter With a Stand
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), food waste and yard trimmings make up 26 percent of the solid waste stream in the United States. Fortunately, by composting that garbage, anyone can make an impact on how our landfills grow – all while rejuvenating their garden’s soil. The old-fashioned way of composting (by piling up garbage in a corner of the garden) works fine, but can take a long time. A composter that can be turned speeds up the process considerably – and looks more attractive. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to make your own composter. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 2 plastic buckets, 20 gallon
- Stainless steel bolts
- Wax crayon or masking tape
- Drill
- Jigsaw
- File
- Scrap pieces of pressure-treated wood
- 6 pressure-treated 2-by-4s
- Bar soap
Instructions
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1
Attach the open ends of two 20-gallon plastic buckets to each other with stainless steel bolts. Choose dark colored buckets; black or dark green, for example, will keep the composter hotter, which in turn helps the contents decompose faster.
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2
Mark a rectangle-shaped opening on the side of the bucket-composter bin, using a wax crayon or masking tape. It must be large enough to get both your hands or a shovel through. Drill a 3/8-inch hole at every corner of this rectangle.
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3
Cut out the rectangle with a jigsaw. With a file, smooth the raw edges of the rectangular opening.
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4
Attach the just-cut-off rectangular piece as a door by adding hinges to the top side and screwing them into the bucket-composter, just above the rectangular opening.
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5
Screw two pressure-treated pieces of wood (5 inches long or so) just inside the opening, along the bottom sides. These will keep the door from opening inward.
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6
Screw another pressure-treated wood piece (about 5 inches long) on the outside of the opening, at the middle bottom. It will serve as a door latch.
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7
Screw a piece of wood to one of the composter’s round ends, overlapping each side of the bucket end by 6 inches or so. This will serve as a handle for turning the composter.
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8
Place two 2-by-4s so they make an X. Screw them together where they cross, using stainless steel bolts. Make another X with two more 2-by-4s and screw it together.
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9
Screw each X to a horizontal 2-by-4, creating a base and X-shaped legs. Create a brace for the base by screwing another 2-by-4 diagonally across from one leg to the opposite leg.
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10
Set the bucket-composter on top of the stand. Lubricate the stand with bar soap.
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