Tuesday, November 17, 2009

compost bin

I finally finished building my compost bin, and I could not possibly feel more butch about it. Okay, I guess I could feel more butch if I'd sawed all the lumber myself (the guy at Home Depot did most of it for me, although I did have to trim some pieces... which I did with my teeth! okay, I used a hand saw). Still, sawing and hammering and drilling is very satisfying work, and I ended up with a beauty of a compost bin:

It's a variation on plan #3 from this PDF. The plan originally called for removable slats on the front of each bin, but by the time I got to that point it seemed like a lot of extra work for very little benefit--it wouldn't keep critters out, and the way my bin is situated, if the wind does anything it will blow stuff *into* the bins. So now I've got some extra lumber left over for other projects.

I'm super excited about being able to compost again, and even though it hasn't even been in use for a full week yet, I can already see how much this is going to reduce my garbage output (it also helps that I can now recycle plastic bags and wrap at the co-op). I think I'm also eating more fruits and vegetables now, because I'm thinking, "I can compost whatever's left!" So that's another added benefit.

3 comments:

Tegan said...

Wow! very nice. It's like our compost bin's sophisticated cousin (which is appropriate, considering that you are my more sophisticated cousin). Ours is only one compartment and is built out of broken down pallets that we stole from a nearby tire place.

Sonya said...

Thanks! I would have actually like to used scavenged materials if I had a way to haul them home. My mom bought be the lumber and fencing for me as part of a housewarming gift, and it took some convincing to get her to buy building materials instead of a ready-made plastic bin... I don't think she would have been up for dumpster diving.

Tegan said...

heh heh, yeah. I can see how that would take a bit of convincing.