DIY Trash Can Worm Bin 

I'd love to see a start to finish cycle, from starting the bed to harvesting the first worm castings, using this bin.

Maybe adding a LED strip around the lid to make sure the worms stay put. Great idea with the trash can for portability during different seasons or for harvesting directly to garden.

I kind of liked the "mistake" bin. I would add 2 struts of 2x4 pieces of wood, screwed into the plastic to reclaim the structure support. I would also make a slide out drawer for capturing the worm castings after I am done scraping. Thanks for the great idea.

I totally advocate for seeking second-hand plastic bins whenever possible. So many things that are sent to the landfill could be used as a flow-through worm bin with a bit of handiness. It's inspiring me to start a game of 'Will It Worm Bin'? 😄

This is a super idea, Thanks for showing us how to build. I'm starting on my first bin at 77.

Dear Captain Matt, you are an amazing teacher!! You got me so excited thanks to you I’m going to start my own worm 🪱 castings bin!! The legacy you are leaving to your kids & grandkids is priceless!! God Bless you 🙌🏻🦋🙌🏻 from Kentucky 🤗🤗

Your enthusiasm is contagious! Thank u for taking the time to share your knowledge with the rest of us! I’m new to worm farming & the 1st 6-7 months of online learning was pretty brutal, most people have no idea what they’re doing but they’re eager to share their disastrous tips with newbies like me who were looking for good worm people to lead us down the right path. Unfortunately I kept being led to massive worm die off. Until I found your channel. Every single thing you’ve said absolutely works! The worm chow is the greatest thing that’s happened to my worms since the day they arrived! I’ve killed hundreds of worms trying to figure out what to feed them, how often to feed them the pH etc. My poor little worms suffered thru it & the ones that survived are currently feasting on worm chow & wheatgrass. And man o man are they happy worms! Last month I experienced my very first worm ball & it was glorious! 😂 They were all feasting on worm chow! You woulda thought I was holding a new grand baby or something! I was so happy to finally see my worms happy & feasting on a healthy meal that they not only liked but LOVED! And that’s when I knew I was officially “Worm People” 😂. Who’da thunk it 😁 Thanks Captain, you’re doing a fine job steering this worm boat! I’m on your team from here in out!

Take the tubes you use as a barrier and put screws into them like an agitator where you put a cap put some sort of handle or handle/cap. Turn the tubes is your scraping.

This is an excellent idea!! We do a fair amount of work at landfills and I've seen hundreds of these discarded cans. This would be a great use for them!

Thanks guys…that was an awesome tutorial. Aside from all the normal projects on a small acreage, this one is on my hit list! Gotta start farming worms! Thanks for the inspiration. God’s Shalom

I found my answer! You are the greatest! I've been racking my brain (even got a few headaches) trying to figure out how to make a smaller CFT bin. I'm so glad I found you (your channel). Thank You soo much! I'm heading to the hardware store first thing in the morning!!!

Excellent, getting 5 used bins from city $20 a piece ,thanks for the tip!

One word says it all...Brilliant 👍🪱👍 Thanks you Captain Matt and family 🪱💓🪱

Fantastic idea for a robust "small" scale CFT bin that would be much bigger than most of us home worm farmers bins!! I want one!! Thanks for showing us how to build it from scratch once you worked through some prototypes!! Excellent video Capt Matt!!🪱🪱🪱

I just wanted to say I love your channel, and thank you for so generously sharing your knowledge, and yourself, with us. It's so nice seeing how you interact with your grandkids. I wish I'd had a grandpa like you growing up, and that my own kids had such a grandpa now. You seem like such a genuinely kind and happy person. Your enthusiasm is contagious too. I had started a worm bin in a rubbermaid tub with 250 worms, about 3 weeks ago. After watching your videos, I just ordered another 1000 worms to start a few more worm bins so I have plenty of castings for my garden by spring. I am also thinking along the lines of scaling up from that, as the worms multiply, to perhaps having some worm castings to sell in the future. We'll see; having a place to keep them cool enough through our hot Texas summers would be the main challenge. Right now, I will just focus on growing my worms and see how it goes.

For those of us challenged with hot weather this is excellent- a cooling and heating system will work well with this design

This is FANTASTIC!!! thank you so much - what a great idea!

That is a great way to get more people involved with worms. Thanks

I'm making one in my garage Right now. Great plan

Genius Captain Matt! 💯% going to do this! 🤙🏽

Love your vids and your clean, enthusiastic teaching style! Actually, I have been using a laundry sink like the very one pictured at the end of your video with a bucket beneath it. It is somewhat difficult to harvest and certainly not a continuous flow, but now I am going to try to do to it what you did to the bin. I will have to brace the legs for the weight consideration and mount it on a rolling platform but I think I can manage. Thank you so much for your insights into worming. May you and your crew have a great day! 🙂

What a fantastic idea & project to bring to fruition! Love it! Can't wait to see it in action. You've inspired me to come up with something creative too. 👏

What a great idea, I like that it is portable, thanks Captain Matt

This is great! LOOKing forward to seeing how it works!

Another amazing video Matt, well done!

Hmmm? Like some others have asked air holes or just leave the top open like your larger bins with a cover tarp? What about adding a strip of LED lightsaround thetop and in the bottom to prevent escape attempts. Thanks for the awesome idea, I have looked at trash cans before as worm bins butthisis great going to get started today.

I honestly love it👍🏾

Using your continuous flow plans for your big bins, I had my neighbor build me a 4’ bin for my basement. It came out beautifully and two days ago was excited to get it home. As we approached my house with it, it became apparent that I neglected to take into account the size of the doors to my basement and the bin is too large to fit through them. Sigh. Yesterday I released the worms into my now outside worm farm prepared to contrive something for the winter months. This morning I went on RU-vid and you have already solved my problem!! Serendipitous. Thank you!

Great idea, Captain! I’m going to try this next

Your builder needs his own youtube or Tiktok. :)

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome idea!!!

Great idea. Your videos are very helpful.

You could screw on 2 upright supports (1/2 in. wood) on the trash can you cut too much out of.

Thanks

Whoever makes coffee at Captain Matt's house needs to switch to decaf.

My suggestion is to add a sloped false floor that would act sort of as a funnel at the bottom, possibly ending in some sort of a chute that could fill a bucket or bag. It seems like it could easily be added with a bit of creativity

Needs air holes added to the top, just small ones. Same concept to the Hungry worm Bin designed and manufactured in NZ. It originated from a rubbish bin too.

I'm curious about the success of this worm bin... is there a video with the results?

Great Idea Sir 👌 Thanks for sharing ❤️

Thanks for a great video. I really like this design.

Old bathtubs are great for worm bins and set on some concrete blocks for your easy access!🤔

Love your videos man!

You have given me a fantastic idea! I have and Urban Worm Bag 2.0 w/o a frame and I did not want to build the wood support frame they give you directions for constructing. What I am going to do is use a 64 gallon Toter like you, however I discovered the can is the perfect size to hang the Urban Worm Bag 2.0 in!!! I have checked the dimensions and there is about an inch of clearance to the sides at the top. What you have helped me to figure out is the hole at the bottom to access the castings. Thanks for the inspiration.

This is a fantastic idea! Yay for worms! 🤗

Great ideal sir

Thanks for sharing this idea. Could you please do a video on how you harvest the castings?

Really like the idea would love to see it in action

How about a little trash can that will fit the cut out and it may not get the edges, but if it's funneled inside to push everthing in the middle and into the container or trash bin inside it'll make for harvesting easily.

This is AWESOME 😎 Gonna make one....or ten😊

You inspired me to convert a 55 gal food grade barrel into a CFT bin. Being round, I had to do some improvising for the sides, but I figured it out. I also attached 4, 2"X2"'s with bolts to add support for the opening. Finishing touch were some 2" X 4"'s on the bottom to add some wheels and to counter act any top heaviness, 30 gallons of castings can get quite heavy. Once I get my channel back on line, will send you a link to the video I made. Happy New Year Captain Matt! Stay Well!!!

So cool

You are a great soul, sir! Thank you so much for your energy and enthusiasm! It really is contagious and infectious. Oh yeah, the worm information is good also…lol. J/k, thank you for all the information I’ve learned a lot from you!

Brilliant 😆

Here is a couple of suggestions for people with limited tool access. You could cut most of the big hole from the inside before you install the pipes . The top and sides might be easier to cut from the inside and then cut the bottom from the outside since it is so close to the bottom edge. Then you could probably use a jigsaw/sabersaw. Also drilling large holes at the bottom corners of the large hole with the hole saw might give you a little cleaner look with a tiny bit of extra strength. Sharp corner are more likely to tear or split although that shouldn't be a problem since no weight will be in the bottom. Another way to cut hard plastic is to heat it with a heat gun or small torch and then just cut it with a razor knife. The heat will make the plastic soft enough (not so hot to melt it) to more easily cut the plastic with a sharp blade. Good luck and happy worning!

Make the woodsticks rollable and put little woodnails on it. than it works like a paper shredder for the castings. Wormpower united. ;)

Seth is Awesome!!

Nice. I actually am going to make a bin with a Rubbermaid tote I was using in a stacked fashion but use the 3/4" pvc and cut out the bottom. Then rest the bucket on a 2x4 frame, likely on wheels. Since I have the buckets and scrap wood is all I'll need, I figured each one is about $10 in pvc and $10 for wheels.

I wonder if short fins of sorts could be added to the pipes so that you could harvest by turning the pipes?

Cool idea. My miniature worm bins are on wheels also. I'm sure you love it.

Thank you all I'll proceed with building one like that soon

Good to see someone tried this I came from your comment on my reddit post on my first trash bin build. My idea is a bit more how do I say it… crazy 😂 let’s see how it goes.

I think you could expand upon this by adding a second tier of pipes. for each tier you could use 2 PVC pipes with holes drilled across instead of the glued end caps to hold the rows in place. if it was setup that way, you could have the worms migrate to the second tier (maybe line the top tier using extra cardboard with drilled holes) and dump finished castings in one swoop by pulling out the bottom tier without leaving any food/, similar to tiered setups with multiple bins. although after giving it some thought.. the challenge to that may be moving the top tier of worms to the bottom without stressing them out.. I may be overengineering things, but you're absolutely right; my brain is brimming with ideas on how to expand upon this setup. thanks for the awesome video!

Add an LED light or 2 light strips with a battery pack mounted on the side to the lid to keep the buggers from climbing out - Just leave it on all the time.

Hello Matt. Sometimes the garbage cans are stacked one ontop.of the other, like chairs in order to keep.a.small.volume in storage. It can be an ideea to.measure and chop off the top part of.a garbage can in order to stack it.ontop of the continuous flow.one and to up the hight for.bigger volume composting

LOVE Seth's t-shirt!! GO YANKEES! 17 games ahead of boston as I write this. 🤣

genius

I think that would work great using a 55 gal plastic barrel. Thanks for the video. I'm just getting started with my worm farm interest.

Great worm bin idea 👍🏾Subbed

You look so excited.

I love this. What keeps the bedding and worms from going down through the pipes?

Good idea But it needs a reservoir for liquid with a tap.Bin becomes a 3 tier.

This is the first video I’ve seen from this channel and it’s absolutely precious! 🥹🥹 who knew a worm trash can would be so exciting!

Wheelie bin worm farm has been commercialised for some time already now :)

PVC can go shrapnel on you on a power saw, one of the few times I wear my safety glasses in the shop

You didn't mention what you would use for a "floor" to go above the pvc pipe. I've seen one that was just craft paper that would be cut to let the castings fall through. I know you have the large scale sifter to do all the separating with, but I don't have access for all of that. Could a 1/8" metal screen be used as the "floor" on top of the pvc pipe so the worms stay in the top of the bin when you're harvesting the castings?

WOW! very smart use of a trash bin! I want to build this! dumb question but i see most people raising red worms,etc. would night crawlers do well in this also?

What about air holes. The worms will climb with out them. I would put in some around edge and top. 1/4 inch is what I suggest about 3 inches apart. It allows for airflow, dry top and sides but doesn't dry top too much.

For this improvement it would be more efficient to have a PVC cutting tool that isn't abrasive. Anyway, when you cut quarter inch (6mm) rings from the same size pipe, and then cut up those rings into shorter separate pieces, you can glue those shorter pieces on the PVC pipes that are already installed inside the bin with PVC glue, in such way that they form an auger. Or scoops if you will. Keep in mind that the PVC pipes need to be installed before you glue on the PVC pieces that are going to form the auger. And then you do not have to reach inside the bin to scrape the compost. You can just twist the pipes from the outside of the bin and the compost will fall down. Or if it too much work to cut all those pieces to form a complete auger over the entire length of the pipes you can simply glue on some pieces here and there. And maybe you can even glue on entire rings that have only a single cut instead of cutting them up into shorter pieces if you can twist them a bit with the help from a heatgun before you glue them on. Or you can cut up another PVC pipe over the entire length several times and make thin strips out of them and glue those on the pipes that are already installed inside the bin.

Wonderful tutorial. Would this work outdoors in North Texas - concerned about the heat in summer and occasional freezing temps in the winter. No basements where I live and garage space is very limited. Thanks

How do you get out the csstings

What volume of finished material would you estimate this bin to hold? In gallons or lbs for example

It's been more than a year. Can you make a video of this in action, how well it has held up, condition now, what you may of done different or let us know if it ever worked at all or how well. Thanks Cpt. Matt

Great idea. Captain Matt, Do you think that it would work well as a breeder bin?

Cutting blade on a grinder in place of multi tool.

Do you have a follow-up on how the garbage can worked.

Wont the liquid run out of the front with the big hole in it?

Does the bedding material and castings fall out on their own at times? I feel like when I fill it for the first time, everything would just fall through as I dump material in

What did they do with the wobbly bin?

How do the worms get air? From the bottom?

I have a dumb question, how does everything not fall down between the tubes?

Hi captain - did you add air holes around the top or is the opening at the bottom sufficient?

How many worms would be good for this size worm bin?

Update on the bin please.

Why are you going above the lifting bar in the front, rather than below?

There's a company in Australia that used a garbage bin...various iterations until he can up with the Hungry Bin - Continuous Flow Worm Composter. Here is a video if you have not seen it yet... see at 42:12 minutes. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-o7_qJY3BPBk.html

Let the kid(seth) talk! Before he explodes with excitement :)

Cmon bro. Did you really say we should make a worm bin out of this bin? The idea and instructions to make have been around for years b4 this vid was mad. Love your vids but now question your honesty.

Hey Matt, Ive noticed all your worms are in a climate control area. How do people raise worms/castings who do not have a climate control environment? I have outbuildings but with no electricity.

Nice Krocs, but what a Horrible T-Shirt!!