Garbage Can Compost

Since I'm "greening" both our Max's and my lives (he'll learn to love it...), another item we did off the list was a garbage can compost. There are tons of references on how to do this on the web.

I'm sure you are thinking "why should I compost?". 

1.It's great for gardening. Composted materials help retain water and provide much needed nutrients to plants and vegetables. Better fruits and veggies, yay!

2. The EPA estimates that over 25% of all landfill waste is yard and food scraps. That is insane! Just think how much of the planet you could save with just a simple compost!

3. Composting is as easy as a trip to the trash can. In the long run you actually save time by less trips to take out the trash and money if your municipal trash collector charges by quantity or the cost of buying mulch in the spring for landscaping.

So after the tutorial, this is what we came up with. Menards was having a sale on 30 gallon trash cans for $7.57 so that was the total cost of this project. Score.

Step 1: Start with cheap trash can.

Step 2: Drill small holes all over trash can including the bottom and the lid.

Step 3: Add dirt/mulch to the bottom of the can.

Step 4: Alternate green and brown materials. Green materials are alive materials containing nitrogen such as yard clippings, fruit and veggie leftovers, ect. Brown materials are dead materials containing carbon such as dead leaves, paper, cardboard, ect. This is by far the best list of things to compost I could find.

Step 5: Water everything so they are damp as a sponge but not dripping. Luckily if you drilled enough holes, excess water should properly drain out.

Step 6: Start adding materials and stir every few weeks.

P.S. I found this lovely compost bin to collect things in the kitchen at World Market for $14.99. It has a replaceable carbon filter so things don't get smelly. So neat!