Composting tips, advice and science.

Filling up wooden compost bins.

Best Wooden Compost Bins: DIY & Store-Bought Picks

I think wooden compost bins are my favorite bins of all. And that’s nothing to do with their insulating properties—it’s all about their looks.

Wooden compost bins look great, and they make it easier to build a compost pile without it collapsing into a mess. I have three pallet bins in my garden, which I use to rotate compost, but I must admit my neighbor’s slatted bin looks better than mine. (They both look better than plastic bins!)

Before going ahead and buying or building a wooden compost bin, it’s important to consider both whether it’s the right option for you, and which of the many solutions will meet your needs best…

Pros and cons of wooden compost bins

Pros

✔ Natural look and greater aesthetic appeal
✔ Can be constructed cheaply
✔ Various solutions to meet different needs
✔ Can be color-coordinated to blend in with your garden
✔ Often very cost-effective
✔ If built with right material can last for many years

Cons

✖ Depending on the solution, may take time to put together
✖ Not usually rat-proof
✖ Not as warm or effective as insulated bins
✖ Requires treating for maximum lifespan

Hot Bin next to a pallet bin
Above: My wooden pallet bin.

Considerations Before Buying or Building

Do you need a compost bin with a lid?

Some composters argue that leaving bins open allows for natural moisture absorption, but in wetter climates, like mine, excessive rain can turn compost into a soggy mess. I’ve learned the hard way that too much moisture slows decomposition and creates a sludgy heap. To avoid this, I cover my bins in heavy rain—sometimes with a hinged wooden lid, other times with simple plastic sheeting.

Keeping your compost covered also traps warmth, speeding up decomposition. If the weather gets hot, your pile dries out or the compost overheats, you can always remove the cover to reduce the insulation.

Do you need to rat-proof your compost bin?

Living in the countryside with chickens means I’m always on high alert for rats. I’ve found both rats and, on one memorable occasion, a snake in my compost bin. 

Snake on my compost.
I wasn’t expecting to see this when I pulled the cover back from the top of my compost!

Rats are drawn to warm, cozy heaps, so if you want to keep them out, consider reinforcing your bin with fine mesh at the base and along the sides. 

Does your compost need air holes?

Some compost bins, like the New Zealand Bin, are designed with half-inch gaps for airflow to speed up decomposition. This may be beneficial for airflow, but it’s not essential, and will reduce the amount of insulation for the compost.  

Instead, consider other options — for example adding materials like scrunched-up cardboard and shredded leaves to trap air pockets.

However, finding solid-sided bins online is tricky. If you want one, building it yourself is an option—but quality wood can be pricey. A simple alternative? Line the walls of your compost bin with cardboard, which is free and provides some insulation.

What size do you need?

For fast composting, bigger is generally better. A minimum of 3 feet by 3 feet allows for enough insulation to generate heat at the core. Turning the compost regularly ensures outer layers are mixed in, sustaining the breakdown process.

That said, compost shrinks rapidly. If you have a small garden, a compact bin that fills up within a couple of months is more practical than a half-empty large bin. If needed, you can always add insulation around a smaller bin to help retain warmth.

Will the wood last?

That depends on what wood you use. Cedar and Douglas Fir can last for many years before needing replacing. If Cedar or Douglas fir aren’t available, opt for pressure-treated wood and apply a non-toxic preservative.

Choosing the best wooden bin

Slatted Bin: Best for convenience

In addition to looking great, slatted compost bins are incredibly easy to put together, as they just slot into place. This also makes them easy to take apart when you want to collect and use the compost.

Options vary between the UK and the USA. In the UK, the Lacewing Slotted Wooden Compost bin comes with pressure treated wood and a guarantee of 15 years, and the panels at the front of the compost bin can be easily removed so you can access the compost.

In the USA, the Greenes Wooden Composter is a good option. Made from cedar for a longer life, this is a modular system, which means you’ll easily be able to expand from a single bin to a three bin system in the future. 

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02/15/2025 05:38 am GMT

Beehive Compost Bins: Attractive, Space Saving

Beehive compost bins look really good in the garden, and they generally don’t take up too much room either. They can come in natural wood, which of course you can paint any colour you like, or already painted. While not suitable for larger gardens, they are ideal for people with small amounts of organic waste. 

The Easipet wooden composter (UK only), for example, comes with a hinged roof so you can put the compost in at the top, overlapping side panels for good air circulation and a removable base for when you want to take the compost away.

DIY options

When it comes to DIY options, you really are only limited by your imagination. Here’s a few to get you thinking, including my favourite – pallet bins.

One of my three Pallet Compost bins.

One of the easiest – and cheapest ways – to create a wooden compost bin is to use pallets. (Even my DIY skills can manage it!)

I’ll keep this section short, as we have a detailed guide to building a 3 bin pallet system, but in short you can easily attach pallets to create a DIY compost bin. You can use either brackets and a hinge or sturdy wire. The most important thing to remember is to avoid using any pallets which are labelled MB, as these have been treated with methyl bromide. 

An alternative to simply fastening the pallets together would be to dismantle the pallets and take the wood apart. Then hammer four wooden posts into the ground and nail the wood from the pallets between the stakes. I personally find that taking apart pallets to be awkward and time-consuming, but if you’re of a more patient nature than me this could be an option.

Learn more: How to Build a Pallet Bin | How to Set up a 3 Bin Compost System

Bay system: Best for large quantities of compost

If you have a market garden, a farm or an extremely large garden, you may wish to consider a bay system. This is a large, multi-bin system, usually built out of solid wood panels, and sometimes with a roof overhead to keep out the rain. After figuring in labour and material costs, it’s the most expensive option here, but it’s also ideal for handling large amounts of waste. 

You can find in-depth advice on building and using a bay system in Charles Dowding’s book Compost: Transform Waste into New Life.  

Wire and fence bin: Quick to build

Wire and fence bins are quick to build, and they use less wood as wire forms the main part of the bin. What’s more, the use of wire means the bins are light and easy to move. They’re a great option if you have some spare wood to use.

There are many options, but one possibility is to build four sides and stretch wire across them. Then, instead of permanently attaching the sides to each other, simply use some screen door hooks. This allows you to easily unhook the sides when you want to turn the compost.

The wire screening you use depends on whether you want to keep rodents out. If you want a mouse proof bin, you’ll need very fine mesh (those mice can squeeze through tiny places!) and you’ll also need wire on the bottom and top.

Stick Pens: Fiddly but flexible

Another way to create a wooden compost bin is to drive stakes in the ground, either in a square or a circle. These can be fiddly to put together or take apart, but they are movable and offer great flexibility in terms of size and shape.

Hazel nut sticks.
Hazelnut sticks ready for cutting down to size.

You can use tomato or garden stakes for this. Personally, I’ve started to use hazelnut branches cut to size instead of garden stakes in my garden, as I can cut them from a friends’ fields (free but more work). I use an iron bar to drive holes into the ground and then push the stakes in.

Place half inch chicken wire around the interior of your pen and use more wire to attach the chicken wire to the stakes. Use additional wire between the top of the stakes to strengthen them and avoid them from being pushed out by the weight of compost. (Alternatively, if you are using hazelnut branches instead of stakes, and you are doing a square, you can tie this along the top of your sides.)

Final thoughts

While this may seem like a deep dive into wooden compost bins, there are still plenty of other options to explore! If you’re keen on more DIY structures, I highly recommend The Rodale Book of Compost, which offers an extensive range of ideas and techniques to suit any garden.

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