Want to be green but when you tried a compost heap only you gave up because of the smell it gives off? Fed up of having animals going through your rubbish to find the food scraps in there? The organic waste system is an easy, effective way of recycling food waste so your rubbish no longer gets raided, and no smell linger around either your rubbish bin or your waste system. You can put one together in a couple of hours, so it is a quick and easy way to kick-start your recycling habit.

So what do you need to build it?
- 20 gallon rubbish bin, preferably one with handles on each side of it as well as a good-fitting lid.
- Some bungee cord
- A drill (preferably power!) with a 1/4″ drill bit that can drill through your bin
- A shovel or spade
- The relevant safety equipment

First of all, you will need to drill about 10-15 holes in the bottom of the bin. Make sure they are fairly evenly spaced out. These holes will be part of the drainage in your waste system.

Now, you will need to dig a hole in your garden that is big enough to fit the rubbish bin in width ways, and is deep enough so that you can put about a third of the rubbish bin into the hole. It is best to put the hole near the kitchen door so you don’t have a big trek every time you want to use the bin. Also, try and dig your hole away from any established root systems, so try and steer clear of places near trees or shrubs. You may also want to consider the aesthetics of your garden – so place it somewhere where it isn’t going to be the focal point!

Once the hole is dug, place your bin into the hole and put some of the soil back around the bin so that it is held firmly in place. And that’s it – you are ready to go! If the lid is fairly easy to take off, place some bungee rope over it so that no animals or children can open it up.

It is best to put just plant based items into your bin and no animal proteins. Things such as vegetable peelings, tea bags and bread are perfect. It is a good idea to find a plastic container which you can keep inside your kitchen as a temporary holding area for the scraps before they get transferred into the waste system.

We estimate that a 20 gallon bin which holds just kitchen waste will take about a year for a family of four to fill up. Once it is full, leave the lid on and forget about it for another 6-12 months. After this time period, you will have some fantastic compost, full of nutrients, which your garden will love!

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