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Create your own compost bin or heap

Step by Step Guide

Find a warm, level spot on bare soil or grass for your bin, for good drainage.

To make your own composter you can use a variety of materials to make a four-sided enclosure, below are some:

  1. Wood (e.g. old pallets)
  2. Wire Meshing netting (e.g. chicken wire)
  3. Bricks (Bottom left clear)
  4. Breeze Blocks (bottom left clear)
  5. Old packing case (top and bottom knocked out)
  6. PVC panels

The above structure should be lined with:

  • Thick cardboard/old carpet or some large stones or woody prunings - this will provide some sort of drainage and will allow air to circulate around the base of the heap.

In addition, the top should be covered with:

  • Old carpet
  • Wooden lid
  • Black polythene etc.
  • By covering the top it will ensure that rain is kept out and the heat is retained - this will speed up the rotting process.

Fill the bin with a mixture of garden/kitchen waste.

After a few months (6 to 12 months), the bottom layers of the heap should look like dark crumbly soil. This well-rotted compost can now be used, any unrotted material should be placed back into the container to start the process again.

Mix all materials thoroughly instead of making layers.

How it works

  1. In the first stage, bacteria and fungi, the Heaters, utilise the softer wastes as a source of food. A well made heap should generate heat and reach 60o C - about the temperature of a hot cup of tea. It should not smell unpleasant.
  2. The heap will eventually cool down after 4 to 6 weeks and at this point the Chompers take over the composting process by consuming tougher material. The Chompers are large invertebrates, such as worms, centipedes, beetles and woodlice. The Chompers require a supply of air. The end result is dark, rich, fibrous compost.

To see the composting process at work, please follow this link to view a short animation on the decomposition process inside a compost bin.

Why Should I Compost?

You can benefit the environment and yourself by composting.

What are the Benefits?

  • Composting takes kitchen and garden material out of the waste stream, and therefore reduces the amount of waste that is buried at landfill sites, which consequently generates landfill gas that contributes towards global warming and a toxic liquid called leachate.
  • If you undertake home composting, you will save money by not needing to buy fertilisers and other similar products from the garden centre.
  • Commercial compost comes from peat bogs. By using your own compost you are contributing to reducing the need to use these valuable resources. These peat bogs also support rare plants and animals, and therefore their natural habitat will be preserved.
  • By using your compost you have produced at home you will improve soil texture and nutritional quality of the soil, which will restrict weed growth.