Making a compost bin

• It's a big and meaningful task that you can accomplish in a short amount of time
• You'll get a great sense of satisfaction that you have built something yourself which will provide great benefits for your garden
• Having a compost bin will attract wildlife, most of which will benefit your garden
• A productive way to recycle waste

• Depending on the age of your children, you could ask them to hold the pallets whilst you tie the knots to hold it together and whilst you hammer in the stakes
• This could be a good opportunity to show children how to tie a tight knot

• Having a second person to hold things in place, and for passing tools to each other will lighten the load
  
• If you're unable to put stakes into the ground, you can try other things to stabilise your compost bin, such as adding L brackets to the corners of your compost bin using an electric screwdriver, and using additional wire.
• You can find lighter weight stakes which will be easier to manoeuvre

• Pallets x 4
• Stakes x 6
• Strong wire/rope
• Sledgehammer
• Something to cover the compost (old carpet/blanket etc)
  
• Latch (optional)
• Spade (optional)
• Rake (optional)
• Bow saw (optional)

1. Find a nice flat spot in your garden for your compost bin. The base should be bare soil. You may need to flatten an area using a spade/rake.
2. Some pallets will be just the right size for your compost bin, but you may need to saw it to a smaller size. We recommend a minimum of 1 metre squared for your homemade compost bin. There is also the option of cutting one of the 4 pallets in half which will act as your gate, so it is easier to deposit compost without having to opening it.
3. For the back and side pallets of your bin, put them where you'd like them one at a time and push a stake through the top gap and down into the soil below. You can bang them a little further into the ground using a sledgehammer. These stakes will hold each of the pallets in place.
4. Secure the back and sides together tightly at the corners with strong wire.
5. You're nearly there! You just need to place your fourth wall/gate. To keep it simple, we recommend using strong wire to tie just one side of your gate to one of the side pallets. This will then act as a gate. Or if you're feeling more confident you could add hinges instead.
6. Optionally you can add a latch onto your fourth pallet (see picture below).

Keep your old carpet/blanket nearby, so that when you add compost you can lie it on top to keep it warm whilst also reducing the smell.