Knowing what you can put in your compost bin and what you shouldn’t is the key to successful composting. However, it can be confusing since some things decompose very quickly, some take time and others don’t at all. Here’s a list of things that are safe to throw in your compost and things you should avoid altogether.
Nitrogenous Items – These Decompose Quickly
- Vegetable and fruit scraps
- Coffee grounds
- Loose leaf tea
- Spoiled rice/soy
- Spoiled milk – any type of milk
- Cooked rice or pasta
- Spoiled tomato paste or pasta sauce (or any type of sauce)
- Tofu, tempeh
- Nori, kelp, seqweed
- Spices or herbs
- Old candy (crush or chop these first)
- Seeds – sunflower, pumpkin or any other type of seed. Chop them up first so they won’t sprout.
- Dairy products
- Old jelly, preserves or jam
- Old juices
- Flowers
- Leaves
- Grass clippings
- Paper table cloths
- Crepe papers
- Jack O’lanters – smash these
- Droppings from rabbits, gerbils, hamsters
- Cow, goat or horse manure
- Pellets usually fed to pets like rabbits
- Old wine
Carbonaceous Items – These Take Longer to Decompose
- Egg shells – crush these first
- Coffee filters
- Paper napkins, paper towels
- Unwaxed cardboard eg. Pizza boxes – rip or cut these up first
- Paper bags/ muffin cups
- Old bread, tortillas, pitas
- Potato chips
- Food crumbs
- Biscuits
- Nut shells
- Popcorn kernels – the ones that don’t pop
- Pizza crusts
- Peanut shells
- Wine corks – chop these up first to speed things along
- Toothpicks
- Tissues
- Hair
- Toilet paper rolls – shred these first
- Old natural loofahs – cut them up first
- Nail clippings
- Cotton balls
- Dryer lint
- Cotton fabric scraps – shred these first
- Wool clothing – shredded
- Cotton towels – shredded
- Old cotton sheets – shredded
- Paper documents – ripped or shredded
- Envelopes
- Sticky notes
- Pencil shavings
- Calendars – not the glossy ones
- Business cards – also not the glossy ones
- Dustpan contents – remove inorganic things like toys or pennies
- Newspapers
- Old receipts
- Junk mail – remove any glossy, coated paper
- Burlap sacks
- Wood ash
- Potpourri
- Christmas trees – chop first
- Twigs
- Wood chips
- Old string made of natural fabrics
- Fruit pits – mango pits, avocado pits etc…
- Pine needles
- Pine cones
- Egg cartons
- Holiday wreaths
- Dry animal food
- Fish pellets
- Alalfa hay
- Feathers
- Saw dust
- Nut shells
- Used clothes
What NOT to Put In Your Compost Pile
- Cat or dog poop – these can contain parasites
- Walnut shells – these are toxic to plants
- Diseased/insect-ridden plants – these can spread insects and diseases
- Any plants or yard trimmings that contain pesticides – these can kill the good bacteria in your compost
- Coal or charcoal ash – these can contain substances that are harmful to the plants
The Take Away
When you’re composting, remember to balance between the green waste (like fruits, vegetables, weeds and grass clippings) and the brown waste (fur, sticks, dried leaves, cardboard, cloth and paper). If there’s too much nitrogen in your pile, it’s going to be stinky and slimy. On the other hand if there’s too much carbon means your pile will be really slow to decompose and it’ll also be very dry.
Well now that you know what you can put in your compost bin, it’s time to get started. Have fun!
