Green Tips: Build Your Own Digester

If you all didn't know it already, most trash never degrades. A majority of today's landfills are built as closed environments that allow no air or water to come into contact with the trash. This design keeps the trash from leaching into the water supply or surrounding soil, but it also keeps it from breaking down.

So, even if you are buying the best biodegradable products, it might not matter at all.

For this reason, we have been trying to reduce our stream of waste that is headed to the landfill. This means purchasing products with minimal packaging, recycling as much as possible, and composting. However, we noticed that we still had a lot of biodegradable material that could not be recycled or composted.

In my coursework to become a master composter, I have learned about an excellent method for getting rid of this non-compostable, non-recyclable material. It is called a digester.

A digester essentially works like composting, but it does not create a final product. There is not compost at the end of the digestion process. In fact, there is nothing left after the digestion process. You take advantage of natural microorganisms and insects in the soil to break down your waste and return it to the soil. The advantage of using a digester is that it can process anything that is biodegradable from used paper towels to meat and grease to bones. And, it does this naturally, with minimal effort, minimal cost, and minimal odor.

To build a digester, you first need to select a well drained area of your yard that receives full sunlight. Then, purchase a cheap plastic garbage can with a lid. Next, dig a hole that is just a bit larger in circumference than the can and is about two to three feet deep.


Take your garbage can and cut holes in its sides. Be sure that these holes are not too high on the can so that they would be visible above the hole that you dug in the ground.


Cut off the bottom of your garbage can.


Place some compost or good soil in the base of your hole to "charge" your digester with some microorganisms and insects.


Place your garbage can in the hole and fill in the area outside of your garbage can with the soil that you removed from the hole mixed with some compost or good soil.


You have just created a digester!


You can fill this with anything biodegradable. Times for "digestion" will vary depending on the richness your population of microorganisms and insects as well as what materials you are trying to degrade. For instance, food scraps are going to degrade a lot quicker than a used paper towel. But, it will all eventually degrade.


And, the best part about the digester is that the microorganisms, insects, and worms will spread the digested materials throughout your soil and make a very healthy soil surrounding your digester. So, plant some flowers around your can to spruce it up a bit.

My only other suggestion is to be sure that your lid is locked tight or tied down just in case you have nocturnal creatures on your property who might be interested in your digester.

So, there you have it. An easy way to reduce your waste stream and return health back to your soil at the same time. Live Long and Digest!

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