Free Composter for Beginners

This project was entirely made of discarded items.   My only expense was the gorilla glue used.

First you will have to salvage the following from the curb or recycling center.

1. A 5 gallon bucket with lid
2. Nylon screen from discarded window or door
3. Black spray paint
4. A short piece of 2x2 wood
5. An old fashioned steel clothes hanger

Tools you will need are

1. A drill
2. Hacksaw or jigsaw
3. Philips screwdriver
4. Side cutters
5. A couple short sheet rock screws
6. Sand paper or wire brush for drill
7. Gorilla glue
8. Wood saw

First you start with the 5 gallon bucket.   Make sure the lid will stay on.

To prepare to cut out top and bottom of bucket drill holes into the 4 corners of area to be cut out.  I made mine about 5"x5".

Then proceed to cut out bottom and lid areas with saw.

Cut the piece of 2x2 wood just long enough for lid clearance and screw it to the inside of the bucket with sheet rock screws from the outside of the bucket going in.   This will be the agitator for the composter.

Using a wire brush on drill or sandpaper roughen the area about an inch or so around perimeter of cut out area.  This allows better adhesion of the gorilla glue to the plastic.   After doing this if your bucket is dirty like mine it is a good time to clean it.

With your scissor cut out a patch of screen material about the size of the area you roughed up on the bucket and lid.  Apply gorilla glue and let dry.

Now apply black paint to the exterior of bucket and top/bottom.   The black paint I used was from the area hazardous waste recycling center.   It was a nearly full can of spray paint

There you have it.  Now start composting.  Agitate the material by rolling on ground.   It does a small amount of compost at a time, enough for a small flower bed or a couple planters.   Follow the rules of composting and enjoy free fertilizer.  

I left the handle on my composter.    Using the side cutter, I formed  the metal coat hanger into a hook that I can push into the ground to prevent it from blowing around on windy days.