Hi everyone. I am finally getting ready to create a compost bin and I had a few questions. I already did a search of the forum and couldn't find my answers after a few pages of results and didn't want to go through the rest of the 200 results :-). I want to use trash cans as bins. Do I need to line the bins with anything? How many holes should I punch in the bottom? I read that newspaper is good to put in but wht about shredded paper, will that work also? What are some other examples of browns? Can I continually add to it or do I fill it to a certain point and leave it alone? And finally, how long should it compost before I can use it? I would also appreciate any other tips that you all can give me. Thanks in advance!

Hi Christa,

I can't answer all your questions, but I try to answer some. You can use newspaper but I wouldn't recommend shredded color paper. Most color ink's contain toxin's that you probably don't want in your garden.

Leaves and straw are another good source of browns. If you have enough material to fill it right away (mixed greens and browns of course) that is better than filling it little by little; however, it doesn't hurt anything if you add it slower. It just takes longer to break down and will not likely reach a temperature hot enought to kill weed seeds and pests.

Your compost is done when you can grab a handful, smell it, and it smells fresh.

I haven't done compost in a trash can,but you have to be careful about not getting enough air inside. If the compost smells real bad, there isn't enough air. Torn up cardboard is another brown source. Coffee grounds are both a brown and a nitrogen source (green).

I've made trash can bins. You'll need to drill LOTS of holes. Compost needs lots of air to circulate, so drill a hole every 3 inches, all over the entire can, sides, bottom, top. You don't need to line it. You can toss in yard waste, kitchen compost, leaves, and lots of dirt.

In reality you cannot drill enough holes in any trash can to allow sufficient air exchange for the compost, because if you did there would be nothing of the can left, but drill as many as you can. My experience with trash can composting was that more often than not you would get a wet, stinky, mass of material instead of good compost, because there is just not enough air exchange.

I get these cans (round bins) made of heavy cardboard. They're used for shipping wire and I can get them from a local factory. I drill holes in the cardboard and use them for composting when my bins are full. These work for me but plastic never has. Plastic keeps things too wet.

I had an old galvanized trash can with the bottom completely rusted out, drilled a bunch of holes in what was left of the trash can. I drove a 3 foot wooden stake into the ground and put the bottomless trash can over that so the stake was in the center of the can. I then dropped a 3-ft x 5 in. piece of PVC with holes in it on top of the stake so it was in the center of the trash can. I filled it up, then put the lid on it during rainy spells. It did a decent job, but it was only for the overflow compost and sort of an experiment on my part. "Stirring" the compost was a little awkward. If I used only this method for compost, I would figure out how to attach "arms" to the PVC and twist the pipe to mix it up.

I have been using plastic trash cans for close to 10 years now. This method works very well and the drilled holes allow plenty of air exchange. Besides drilling holes, I cut out the bottom so my compost touches the soil. This method is a lot cheaper than buying a premade compost bin. Each bin I purchased has been around 10 dollars and they lasted at least 6-7 years.

I too have used plastic garbage cans for composting for years and I think they're great. I did not cut out the bottoms of the cans though. I bolted the lids on so I can stir them by just rolling them around the yard or even tipping them end over end. Then I just unscrew the bolts when I need to add water or sift out some of the compost.

I have a 3-bin system in various stages. One for new additions, one for partially finished and one for finished compost.

It's hard to tell exactly when you would be able to use it. There are many variables: How small the pieces are that you put in, are vigilant you are about keeping it stirred, how damp it is, how the balance of browns vs. greens is, etc... In my experience, everything doesn't magically rot at the same time. You will have some finished compost along with some larger stuff that will need to go back into the bin.

You can use newspaper and shredded paper as browns but leaves and straw are better choices. Good luck!

Contrary to what many think, composting newspapers with colored inks is OK. They are now soy based. We have hashed this out almost every year on this site and had a printer who confirmed this. Even glossy magazines are fine because the gloss is made by putting it through special rollers.

The glossy surface on paper is made by laying onto the papers surface the right clays and then processing that paper further to compress that clay into a very smooth surface so it appears glossy. Matte surfaces are made with different clays on the papers surface, and a different processing down the line, or no clays on the surface, usually not writting papers.

I know that many of the inks used in printing are now soy based, except red and shades of. It takes lead to make red, so I opt for no colored ads in my compost. Since I'm not convinced they have figured that one out, I'm just a bit leery of using it in my compost especially on food crops.

As long as you have enough holes so that there is no standing liquid in your barrels that bit should be OK.

Its my beleif that cold composting is OK. When I have had limited space i've done it with steel barrels (I like to roll them around a couple times as they fill).

This kind of trash can composting doesn't really have enough volume to hot compost. THat is its only limitation IMO.

If great speed is your need then you wanna hot compost. If your pace is slower cold composting is fine.