How to Build a Corner Bin

Measure and outline a 3-foot-square area in a corner of your garden or yard using powdered chalk. Select a slightly raised site with full-shade exposure and well-draining soil.

Measure and saw 2-by-4-inch pressure-treated posts down to 4-foot lengths. These posts form the corner posts of the bin.

Measure 12 inches along the end of each post and form a line all around it with a colored marker. This line serves as a guideline when pounding the post in the ground.

Stand a post vertically over a corner of the chalk outline. Use a sledgehammer to pound it in the soil until the marked line. Tamp the soil around the base of the post so it stands on its own. Repeat the process to install the remaining posts over the other corners of the chalk outline.

Measure and cut 1-by-6-inch boards down to 3 feet in length. You need five boards per wall of the corner bin. Continue to measure and cut the boards until you have 20, 3-foot 1-by-6-inch boards.

Set a 1-by-6-inch board on its 1-inch edge on the ground, between two adjacent corner boards. Drive two to three 8d finish nails through each end of this board to secure it to the post below.

Measure 2 inches above the installed 1-by-6-inch board and set another identical board over the mark, with its ends resting over the corner posts. Repeat the process to attach it in place using 8d screws. Continue this process to attach the remaining three boards to the two corner posts, ensuring each falls 2 inches above the board directly below.

Form the remaining three walls of the corner bin using five, 3-foot boards for each side.

Fill the corner bin with alternating layers of green and brown waste. Ensure each layer is 3 inches thick.