How To Build A Wooden Pallet Compost Bin

Looking to build a simple wooden pallet compost bin? Read on for some really easy instructions to build a pallet compost bin with repurposed materials for free!

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If you’ve been around the blog for a hot second, you know I’m a self-proclaimed composting nerd. If not, welcome! I’m so glad you’re here.

I love everything about composting and all its environmental benefits. Since moving into our house four years ago, we’ve used the upcycled rain barrel left by the previous owners as our compost bin. They removed the bottom so it sits directly on the soil, and it’s been a really effective way to contain a pile and help it stay hot.

We have a fairly large yard and also a sizeable garden. I wanted more composting capacity for garden remnants, weeds, and all the cardboard that makes its way into our house. I set out to build simple DIY zero waste compost bins from repurposed materials to create more composting space in our yard.

Tutorials on YouTube abound showing how to build a DIY compost bin made from pallets. Some are fancier or prettier than others. I was most concerned about keeping costs low and repurposing as many materials as possible.

Last but not least, don’t forget about sourcing materials from places like Buy Nothing groups, “free” postings on Facebook Marketplace, or Nextdoor. If people have extra supplies like wooden pallets, they’re often more than happy to pass them along to someone who can use them! It’s worth asking.

For safety purposes, be sure to use wooden pallets that are heat-treated and not chemically treated. You will see a marking on them noting “HT” which indicates they are heat-treated. The wooden pallets will break down over time, and you don’t want the chemicals from the chemical treatment in your finished compost.

So Simple Just About Anyone Can Do It

My handywoman skills are pretty slim. I like the idea of using power tools, but I have very little experience working with them. This project was so easy I managed to complete it in just a couple of hours with essentially no previous experience building things like this.

Making a compost bin out of pallets is really simple, so long as you’re not too concerned about precision. I was ok with a few wonky screws, a mishap with a couple of nails, and imperfection at every corner. The finished product works great, and that’s all that mattered to me. If you’re ok with something functional but not fancy, you can probably do this too!

Truth be told, it’s pretty empowering to learn to use power tools and build confidence in my construction skills. These DIY wooden pallet compost bins are far from perfect, but they are exceptionally effective and proof that I can be resourceful and learn new skills.

How To Build A Compost Bin From Pallets

There are lots of great tutorials online to follow if you want to make your own DIY wooden pallet compost bin with repurposed wooden pallets that are symmetric and gorgeous and fancy. I’ll leave the advanced pallet compost bin DIY tutorials to the experts. But know that it’s perfectly okay if your DIY compost bin is good enough but far from perfect.

The wooden pallets I repurposed to make my DIY pallet compost bins were of varying sizes. Most YouTube tutorials would probably advise against such mismatched aesthetics. I was more concerned about reducing waste and using things I already had on hand to make my DIY wooden pallet compost bin. I purchased no new tools or materials and left zero waste in my wake.

If you’re looking for a bare-bones, zero waste DIY pallet compost bin tutorial, I’ve shared all the steps I took to build ours below. It’s not fancy, but it definitely works. We’ve been using ours for about six months now, and it’s a great contained space to mix greens and browns with oxygen and water to create lovely finished compost.

DIY Wooden Pallet Compost Bin FAQ

I’ve included some additional answers to question you might have about building a wooden pallet compost bin. If you have any other questions, be sure to leave them in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

How Do You Use A Wooden Pallet Compost Bin?

After building your wooden pallet compost bin, layer organic matter into the bin. Mix “greens” (like plant matter and grass clippings) and “browns” (like dried leaves, sawdust, and cardboard) on top of each other. Check out this post for more on greens vs browns ratios.

You can turn the pile if you choose. The more you turn the pile, the faster matter will decompose and become finished compost. You can also leave the matter to decompose on its own. While it takes longer (six months to a year typically), it also requires much less work and many people prefer to let nature take its course. It’s a personal preference to weigh how much effort you wish to put forth and how quickly you need the finished compost to be ready for your gardens.

Related Resources: Complete Guide To How To Compost At Home | Composting At Home FAQ Series

Can You Add Food Scraps To A Pallet Compost Bin?

You can, but composter beware. A pallet compost bin is very open to wildlife. Kitchen food scraps can turn an open compost bin into a critter buffet. If you cover food scraps with dirt or in-process compost, you may be able to cover the smell of food when it first decomposes in the compost bin and avoid curious critters checking out your leftovers. This has worked well for us in compost bins that are mostly enclosed.

Our pallet compost bins, however, became a haven for wildlife when we added food scraps to the mix. Animals snack on the food scraps at night. They burrow in the buffets for warmth in the winter as the piles heat up on cold nights. The piles attracted so many animals, in fact, that we struggled to keep sufficient greens in the pile for adequate composting.

Today, we put our food scraps in an enclosed bin or a Subpod. We also use an electric composter sometimes and can add the output from this process to the compost bin without any issues.

Are Pallets Safe For A Compost Bin?

It depends on the type of wooden pallet that you use to create your pallet compost bin. Some wooden pallets are heat-treated while others are pressure-treated and may contain chemicals used in the treatment process. The chemicals are released into the compost as the pallets inevitably break down over time.

Look for pallets stamped with “HT” to ensure they are heat-treated. Those will be great for wooden pallet compost bins and will not have chemicals in them to contaminate your finished compost.

Do You Need Special Wooden Pallets For A Pallet Compost Bin?

Aside from the consideration above to use heat-treated wooden pallets, there are no special requirements about size or structure to create a wooden pallet compost bin. If you have a strong preference for the aesthetic appearance of your compost bin, you may prefer pallets that are the same size or have no broken slats.

I wasn’t too concerned about the pallet compost bin being pretty, especially because it lives in my backyard. We used different size pallets and pieced them together as best we could. All of the pallets were repurposed and a couple of them had broken slats or different numbers of slats. Especially once we lined the inside of the bins with chicken wire, it really didn’t matter.

Do Wooden Compost Bins Rot?

Eventually, a pallet compost bin will rot. Wood is an organic material that will break down over time. That’s why it’s important not to use pressure-treated or chemically-treated wooden pallets for your bin. However, it will take several years for the wooden compost bin to rot, so you have many years of use before you need to restore it or build a new one.

Additionally, if you line the inside of the compost bin with chicken wire to help keep the decomposing organic matter away from the wooden pallets, it should help the pallet compost bin last longer and rot more slowly.

Does A Wooden Compost Bin Need A Lid?

Nope! A compost pile does not need to be covered, whether it’s in a plastic bin, a wooden pallet bin, or any open pile. A cover can help keep finished compost dry, particularly if you live in an area with a lot of rain. A cover can also help compost stay warm and process faster in colder climates. However, a cover is not necessary for a compost bin (and we don’t have covers on any of ours).

Can I Build A Wooden Pallet Compost Bin On Grass?

Yep! There’s no need to pull up sod to create a compost bin. Set your wooden pallet bin right on the grass and start piling up your organic waste. The grass will break down and eventually become part of the compost pile. The worms and other microbes will make their way up from the soil into the compost bin to help break down all the organic matter into lovely finished compost.

Returning Nutrients To The Soil In Our Own Yard

I’m excited to close the loop and return the nutrients from plants in our yard back to more raised beds and garden spaces. We will use the finished compost to nourish our own fruit and vegetable gardens and the orchard I hope to have in our yard someday. We have several beds of annual vegetables that I plant each year as well as one apple tree, a peach tree, and a handful of berry bushes. Hopefully, it’s the beginning of something much more robust.

Composting is such an important component of environmental well-being and healing. Composting is easier than you think, definitely doesn’t stink, and returns so many nutrients to our soil on the path to a healthier planet. Have you built a DIY compost bin from repurposed wood pallets? Was it fancy or functional or both?

Learn More About Composting At Home

If you want to learn more about composting, we’ve created a huge series of articles about common questions related to composting at home. We also have a recurring interview series called Bring Your Trash To Life in which we interview everyday families who compost at home to see how they do it.

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