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How to make your own compost

Organic compost being added to a tumbling barrel

Overview

Making your own compost is a natural way to fertilise your garden, save money and do your bit for the environment. You won't have to buy fertiliser and you can recycle kitchen scraps, garden waste and any leftover cardboard. We'll show you how to set up a compost bin, the best place to keep it, and how to make organic compost.

Tools and materials

Tools

Materials

Steps

1Find the right position for your compost bin

Decide where to put the compost bin. Make sure it's in a nice shaded area and well drained. Too much sun will dry it out. We are using a tumbling bin, which produces compost faster (turning it regularly increases aeration), keeps out rats, and looks neat.

A compost tumbling barrel sitting on concrete next to a backyard fence

2Start mixing your materials together

Add organic compost and straw to the bin to get started. Make sure you have an even ratio of brown to green waste. Brown waste is high carbon material such as paper, cardboard and straw.  Green waste is high in nitrogen, such as coffee grounds, manure and kitchen waste. Normally you would need to layer the different waste types, but in a tumbler bin you can just throw it all in and mix together.

Organic compost being added to a tumbling barrel

3Turn the tumbler weekly

Turn the tumbler bin at least once a week. Make sure you don't put any meat products, dog or cat faeces, or diseased plant material in with the compost. Once it looks like soil and smells earthy, the compost is ready to use on your garden.
A tumbling barrel being turned to blend its contents together by a Bunnings team member

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Health & Safety

Please make sure you use all equipment appropriately and safely when following the advice in these D.I.Y. videos. You need to be familiar with how to use equipment safely and follow the instructions that came with the equipment. If you are unsure, you may feel it is safest to consult an expert, such as the manufacturer or an expert Bunnings Team Member.

Grave health hazards are linked to asbestos, which may be in homes built up to 1990. Health hazards may result from exposure to lead-based paints in older materials and copper chromium arsenic (CCA) treated timber. For information on the dangers of asbestos, lead-based paint and CCA treated timber and tips for dealing with these materials contact your local council's Environmental Health Officer. You can also use a simple test kit from Bunnings to indicate the presence of lead-based paint.