Backyard Organic Waste Digester

I made this digester to divert our pet waste and a portion of our household organic waste from the landfill. It's pretty easy to make and it will save you money by reducing the volume of waste you must pay to dispose of.

This digester is basically a compost bin with a twist. The twist being that the bin is sealed and partially buried to deter pests from feasting on the stuff inside.

I do not plan to harvest any material from the digester since my compost bin provides enough humus for my soil-building needs. The other reason for not harvesting the digester's contents is that it will be comprised of some nasty stuff, namely dog poop and rotting meat. Yechh!

My inspiration for the project came from the website of my local government: http://www.compost.bc.ca/learn/factsheets/3digester.pdf


Let's get started!

Step 1 Items You Will Need...

- Bin with a tight-fitting lid
- Electric drill
- Holesaw kit
- Felt-tip marker

Comments

[Xenophon]

NIce.

I built a similar concept last spring to work as a composter from the plastic salt tank of an old water softener. I drilled the holes on the bottom and sides like you, but made them much smaller to keep the compost in. Sadly, I did not document the process.

It has worked remarkably well this year, with all of our organic kitchen waste going into it, as well as much of our junk mail after passing through a paper shredder. No odor or animal problems at all. The compost will go towards a garden I plan on starting this coming spring.

[Mar HK]

This is a great idea...now where to put one in my yard...
Have you had much problem with odour when the lid is on?

[Zach.Ogilvie]

The digester is new so no odours yet. I'm going to keep a close eye on it and I'll make an addendum to this instructable once I have some data. It was suggested that I dump in some dry material (sawdust, leaves, etc) to abate any odours that may arise.

[jessyratfink]

This is great! I wish I had a backyard. :)

[Zach.Ogilvie]

Thanks, and I know what you mean! I have been an apartment dweller for most of my adult life. We're in a house now and this is my very first yard.