Roll up your sleeves. Dig into your trash and prepare to get your hands dirty. Setting up a composting bin is easy, inexpensive and fun for Scouts and families.

Materials

• Plastic bin with lid (storage container, garbage can, Home Depot pail, etc.)
• Drill
• Soil
• Newspaper, paper, and/or light cardboard
• Vegetable/fruit scraps, egg shells and coffee grounds
• 1 lb of red wigglers per container (can be ordered online or found in bait shops. Our Walmart had them.)

How to Set Up Compost Bin

1. Drill 6- 12 holes on the top, bottom and on the side of the container with a smaller drill bit to keep worms from crawling out.
2. Shred the newspaper and/or paper and/or cardboard and spread it on the bottom of the bin.
3. Add some water. (Think a damp kitchen sponge)
4. Cover with soil.
5. Add food scraps like egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, vegetables, fruit, dried plants, grass clippings.
6. Cover with some soil and mix.
7. Add worms and close lid.

How to Maintain the Bin

1. Collect food scraps in a sealed container to later add to the bin. NO bread, meat, oils or dairy.
2. Add to the top and mix.
3. Ensure the soil stays damp.
4. Worms will need about 3.5 lbs of scraps per week.
5. After one month, you will have usable soil.

Still a little uncertain about what to do? Here’s a great instructional video.

What’s Next?

Use the soil to plant seeds in a container, in a potted plant or in a garden. For Girl Scouts, composting makes a great introduction to the Daisy Garden Journey and conversations about using our resources wisely (green Daisy petal). We even did one compost bin with worms and without for comparison. After a month, ask the girls to bring recyclable containers, like milk cartons or jugs or egg cartons. Cut down the containers, add soil from the compost bin and plant seeds or plants to continue the Journey.