How to Make a DIY Compost Bin: 15 Easy Designs

5-Gallon Bucket Compost Bin

Creating a worm bin is a great way to begin composting, and it takes up a lot less room than a large composter. This can be a great solution for those who have a small yard or an apartment. Plus, you only need to set aside an hour (at most) to make this worm bin that costs less than $5 from Attainable Sustainable.

How to make it: All you need are a couple of five-gallon buckets, a drill, and golden dirt. This project will take you through the process of making the worm bin as well as filling it. There are also a lot of tips for filling the container with worms and expanding your worm bin in the future.

Under $5 Worm Bin from Attainable Sustainable

Trash Can Compost Bin

Making a compost bin out of a trash can is an easy, inexpensive, and obvious solution to making the most of food waste. It's also a great way to get a compost pile going quickly and without much of a budget.

How to make it: You'll need a plastic trash can with a lid and a few other materials to build it. It's a really easy project and it's perfect for the beginner. The whole project will take you less than an hour.

Trash Can Compost Bin from The Spruce

Pallet Compost Bin

Here's a free DIY pallet compost bin plan from Mike's Backyard Nursery that's an affordable choice for someone who wants a permanent area for compost but isn't looking to spend a lot of money.

How to make it: This plan uses wood pallets for the frame and some hardware to keep everything together. It's pretty easy to find free pallets, making this an inexpensive way to compost. Add some hardware and a handle and you have a fully functional compost bin.

Pallet Compost Bin from Mike's Backyard Nursery

Wooden Compost Bin

If you're serious about composting and want to build something that will last, this wooden DIY compost bin from Practically Functional is a great option. It is sturdy and designed to last through the seasons.

How to make it: This DIY compost bin is made using cut lumber and a hinged lid attached to make it easy to add items while keeping animals out. Added features include hardware cloth, which provides air circulation, and hinged access to the bottom of the bin to get out the finished compost.

Wooden Compost Bin from Practically Functional

Wire Fence Compost Bin

If you have an area outside where you'd like to start a compost pile, this plan will show you how to make it secure. By using chicken wire and posts, you can make one of the most inexpensive compost bins available.

How to make it: Inexpensive chicken wire surrounds the compost pile, though any type of wire fencing will do. You can easily change the size of this compost bin depending on the area you have. Run the wire around posts and secure it. It's that easy.

Tote Compost Bin

A plastic tote can easily make a compost bin with some holes to promote air circulation. For this project from Just Call Me Homegirl, you simply need a large tote and a drill to make the holes. Because this DIY compost bin is low to the ground, it's also a great way to get kids involved in composting.

How to make it: There are two simple steps in making this compost bin. Take a plastic tote and drill holes in the top. That's it!

Tote Compost Bin from Just Call Me Homegirl

Straw Bale Compost Bin

Another way to make a simple, inexpensive, and custom compost pile is by surrounding it with straw bales. This lets you decide the size of the pile, which you can easily adjust as needed. It also provides insulation to make the composting process happen more quickly. Plus, as the straw breaks down, it can be incorporated into the compost pile.

How to make it: Simply put straw bales around the spot where you want to compost. There's your compost "bin."

DIY Rotating Compost Bin Tumbler

This compost bin plan from Kinda Crunchy Kate creates a DIY compost tumbler, which makes it easy to turn over the compost. Turning a compost pile is important for controlling odors and making sure material at the edges mixes in to heat up and decompose.

How to make it: Tumblers can be pricey to purchase pre-made, but this tutorial shows how to make one inexpensively with an old barrel and some sawhorses. This compost bin is one that can be turned manually to keep the compost decomposing evenly.

DIY Compost Tumbler from Kinda Crunchy Kate

Plastic Storage Container Compost Bin

Here's a slightly different way to build a compost bin out of a plastic storage container. This one is reinforced to keep rodents out, which is a critical move if that's been an issue in the past.

How to make it: You'll start with a normal plastic storage container. The twist is drilling holes 1 to 2 inches apart on all sides of the container, including the bottom and lid, and then using wire mesh or hardware cloth to keep rodents out of the compost pile. You also can put the container within a second container to catch the liquid that sometimes seeps out of the compost pile.

In-Ground Compost Method

The easiest, quickest, and cheapest way for using compost in the garden is by using the dig-and-drop method. You don't need any materials except a shovel.

How to make it: All you need to do is dig a hole in your garden and then add your composting materials to it. Cover the hole back up, and you'll have automatically enriched the soil for nearby plants.

Trench Composting

If you have rows of plants in your garden, consider taking the dig-and-drop method one step further with trench composting. This is a great method for vegetable gardens where the crops are in evenly spaced rows.

How to make it: Simply dig a trench alongside your plants that's roughly a foot deep, and then fill it with about 6 inches of compostable materials. Then backfill the rest of the trench with soil.

Hot Composting

Hot composting is a method that optimizes the microbial activity in a compost pile to decompose materials into compost faster.

How to make it: You can create your compost bin out of any typical material, such as wood pallets or wire fencing, but it must be at least 4 feet by 4 feet. It also should be positioned where it will get full sun. 

Old Dresser Drawer

If you’re not able to compost outdoors, there are still some options for indoor composting on a smaller scale. For instance, you can use a plastic storage bin. Or you can repurpose a salvaged item, such as an old dresser drawer.

How to make it: This method is super simple. Cover the top of the dresser drawer with a hinged piece of wood or heavy fabric, and you’ll have yourself a composting vessel.

Bokashi Bucket

Bokashi composting quickly turns organic materials into compost using microorganisms. You can purchase bokashi kits, but it’s easy to make the composter yourself.

How to make it: You need two 5-gallon buckets, one well-fitting lid, and a drill. Drill holes into the bottom of one bucket, set it inside the other, and you’re ready to add your composting materials.

DIY Compost Screen

Regardless of the vessel in which you keep your compost, you’ll often want a compost screen to sift out any large chunks that haven’t fully decomposed before you add the compost to your garden. A DIY compost screen is easy and inexpensive to make.

How to make it: Make a four-sided frame out of lumber, and staple hardware cloth to all the sides. Then, you can hold the screen over a bucket or wheelbarrow and sift the compost through it before use.