If you are a gardener, chances are you have thought about starting a compost bin. Not only is it great for the planet, but learning how to start composting can help you create “garden gold”. You can transform your soil into a healthier home for all your plants!

Although there are compost bins you can purchase, they tend to be expensive, hard to transport, and sometimes downright inefficient. If you don’t know how composting works, then take a couple of minutes and visit our quick primer on composting techniques, then jump back here and pick one of these 16 creative DIY compost bins, and get started!

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DIY Compost Bins From Wood 

Wooden compost bins are a great addition to your garden. They’re heavy-duty, they last (almost) forever, and they’re usually not too expensive or difficult to put together. Take a look at DIY compost bin pallets and other wood compost bin ideas.

Lidded Compost Bin Tutorial

Our first tutorial from Practically Functional is a DIY compost bin that has the details you want. A latching lid, sturdy construction, access to soil at the bottom, and my fav – You can easily open the lid with one hand to dump in the kitchen scraps! Lots of step-by-step directions, photos, and drawings.

3-Bin DIY Compost System

For those of you who want to use the three-bin system and get really serious, this homemade DIY compost bin even looks good. The tutorial isn’t available anymore, but we included it for inspiration anyway!

DIY Compost Bin From Pallets

If you want to recycle while creating your bin, make this cheap DIY compost bin from pallets from Growing a Greener World. Did we mention cheap?

Cheap Do-It-Yourself Compost Bin

This low-cost compost bin from Instructables allows you to remove any side, and the whole thing is easily movable as well. Made from inexpensive fence pickets, this is an easy DIY garden project.

Easy Cedar Compost Bin

These compost bins from Birds and Blooms are made of cedar and allow the boards at the bottom to slide out. This lets you remove finished compost from the bottom of the pile. Then you can continue to add to the top of the pile.

Tiered Wooden DIY Compost Bin 

This one will take up some space, but if you have a big garden, it’s a great way to keep all your plants nourished with compost! Head on over to Homestead and Chill for the tutorial. Unfortunately, the cat isn’t included. 

DIY Plastic Compost Bins

Plastic compost bins are another great option. Black plastic gets nice and hot, which helps your compost break down, and plastic is another cheap material. These tutorials are even simpler than most of the wooden bins, making them amazing DIY compost bins for beginners.

DIY Compost Bin Trash Can

So we love the compact, easy nature of this garbage can DIY compost bin by ‘Full Measure of Happiness’. But unfortunately, that site has gone to the big bloggers resting place in the sky… No worries, keep reading!

DIY Compost Bin Trash Can With Simple Holes

Fortunately for all of us, Toni at The Happy Housewife has a full tutorial on making a DIY compost bin from a garbage can! Love the pics of her boys “rotating” the bin!

Tumbler-Style DIY Compost Bin

So, maybe you don’t have adorable little boys (or girls!) to push your compost bin around the yard? (Or maybe you do, but they no longer think it’s a cool play-toy!) Using the same idea, this garbage can composter from Instructables is on a stand that you rotate the compost bin on. Pretty clever!

$10 DIY Plastic Compost Bin Idea

Gardening isn’t always cheap, but your compost bin doesn’t have to be expensive! This tutorial from Young House Love will show you how to start composting for just $10. 

DIY In-Ground Compost Bin 

This DIY worm compost bin lives in your soil, allowing you to compost directly into your garden bed and improve the soil section by section. It’s easy and so effective! You’ll be amazed by how many worms you start to see. Learn more from By Brittany Goldwyn.

Other DIY Backyard Compost Bin Ideas

If you’re not enamored with any of the DIY compost bins we’ve shown you so far, don’t worry! Here are a few other options that work great to break down your food scraps and yard debris.

DIY Compost Bin Chicken Wire Tutorial

Don’t want to go through a bunch of construction? Make your own compost bin from wire hardware cloth or chicken wire with this tutorial by Mother Earth Living.

Repurposed Compost Bin

Keep recycling and protecting the earth by making this shower door compost bin. The shower door acts like a bit of a greenhouse and heats up the compost, making it decompose faster. You can pick one up at a Habitat for Humanity Restore or a similar store near you. No tutorial for this one unfortunately – use your imagination!

DIY Compost Bin From Concrete Block

This DIY compost bin is different in that it’s made using concrete blocks. This makes it easy to make the bin larger or smaller, depending on the needs of that season, keep out critters, or even remove blocks to allow for more ventilation.

Corrugated Metal DIY Compost Bin

This amazingly detailed tutorial from Vegetable Academy is perfect for anyone who wants a larger, multi-compartment setup. If you have the space for it, this is a great option! 

Super Simple DIY Compost Bin 

Karen Bussolini has shared a great idea here – why not make a simple compost bin from wire fencing? They’ve also got a great guide on what to compost, and some basic troubleshooting if your compost isn’t breaking down. 

Where to Buy Compost Bins

We get it, life can be hectic, and you don’t always have a free afternoon to dedicate to making a DIY worm compost bin. If you’re looking for a compost bin you can buy and set up in minutes, here are our top picks!

Small Wayfair Compost Bin Options

If you don’t have time to DIY and want to buy your compost bins, we found this Redmon Tumbler Compost Bin at Wayfair. It’s so clean and easy to use! Just turn to tumble, and compost makes itself. You could even keep this in the garage.

Larger Wooden Compost Bin From Wayfair

For larger gardens, you might want to try this Stationary Composter. You could even use several together for using the 3-bin system. Made of cedar, it has good reviews for ease of assembly. If it’s out of stock, try the Bosmere compost bin.

Keep Your Plants Nourished With a DIY Compost Bin!

We hope you enjoyed Creative DIY Compost Bin Ideas! Don’t forget to learn more about how to compost, and then try our post on How to Make Safe, Home-Made Weed Killer!

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