While at Pizza Hut a couple of months ago, waiting for my pizza I heard the sound of a motorcycle outside. I looked across the street towards a shop that was receiving a shipment of motorcycles. All the bikes were in crates protected by cardboard. When I saw the cardboard I thought "lasagna bed base", the size of a motorcycle! After getting my pizza I go over to the shop and see the cardboard covers the sides and top of the bike. I ask the owner what he does with the cardboard? He points to the back of the shop; so I go back there to take a look. There is a pile of wood pallets, side frames, and cardboard to last a lifetime. I ask if I can have the cardboard? The owner says you can have all that mess back there. I pull the truck back there and while loading cardboard, it dawns on me just how much wood is there. I take the wood too, all of it (two trips)!

To make a long story short, I used the wood to create compost bins. The back wall is common for all the bins; it is one of the pallets cut 3.5 feet high, a little over 6 feet long. The gates are removable and the bin is freestanding. This is why you can see the board across the top of each bin to keep the walls from collapsing inward/outward. I used drywall screws and deck screws to make the bins; this was the only cost involved. You can see the front view {{gwi:270349}}; the back view {{gwi:270350}}. Some of the material left over can be seen {{gwi:270351}}. All in all, the only thing I would do different the next time is that all the wood would be constructed horizontal instead of vertical for the bins. This is because compost can fall through the slats easier when the wood is vertical. And too, all the gates would be the same size as the walls. I have since built additions for each gate, thus I can now completely fill the bins. The bins are holding a finished compost/humus mix, to be used this coming spring. The truck is loaded with horse manure humus. The small box on the side of the compost bins is a box I made to store wood charcoal in.

It was a very easy project, cost a little gas, a few boxes of screws, and some sweat. This may give a few members an idea of where to get free wood to make a bin or four. I have since found out commercial lawnmowers are shipped the same way to dealers, so there is wood to be had there too. Not much more I can add, just sharing the joys of composting (and showing off just a little too)Â

Blutranes