What CAN Be Composted in a Home Composting Bin?
- Autumn leaves, twigs, yard trimmings
- Grass clippings
- Vegetables and their trimmings
- Fruit and their peels
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Tea leaves and bags
- Paper napkins
- Cereal boxes
- Sawdust from deciduous hardwood trees
- Bamboo skewers
- Paper egg cartons
- Pizza boxes
- Twigs
- Paper bags
- Houseplant leaves
- Paper rolls (towel, toilet paper, wrapping paper)
- Cotton balls and swabs
- Paper plates
- Straw and hay (no persistent herbicides: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/herbicide-carryover)
- Nut shells (no walnut shells—they can be toxic to plants)
- Stale herbs and spices
- Wine corks
- Toothpicks
- Paper baking cups
- Hair and fur
- Dryer lint
- Vacuum contents & floor sweepings
- Pencil shavings
- Newspaper
- Loofahs
- Cotton, wool, linen, silk, hemp, burlap, felt
- Office paper, junk mail, envelopes (no plastic)
- Used matches
- Yard trimmings
- Nail clippings
- Freezer-burned vegetables and fruits
- Aquarium water, algae, plants
- Soiled paper
- Dregs from juice, beer, wine
- Spent potting soil
- Dead blossoms
- Eggshells and crustacean shells
- Paper table cloths
- Spoiled tomato sauce, paste
- Dead flowers, blossoms
- Potpourri
- Beer and wine-making leftovers
- Seaweed
- Evergreen garlands and wreaths
- Jack O'lanterns
- Dry dog, cat, fish food
- Bread, tortillas, pitas
- Cereal and crackers
- Chips (tortilla, potato, etc)
- Cooked pasta, rice, other grains
- Soy, rice, almond, coconut milk
- Crepe paper streamers
- Yarn, thread, string, rope, twine
- Cork
- Wood chips and bark
- Dryer sheets manufactured by Seventh Generation or Method
Backyard composting bin.
Rhonda Sherman
What NOT to Compost at Home
- Meat, bones, fish (produce odors and attract animals)
- Milk products, such as butter, milk, yogurt, sour cream (produce odors and attract animals)
- Eggs, grease, oils, lard (produce odors and attract animals)
- Pet and human feces, dirty diapers, tampons, personal care products (may contain pathogens harmful to humans and plants)
- Plant material treated w/ herbicides/pesticides
- Pressure-treated lumber (has toxic chemicals)
- Lime (can cause ammonia gas releases)
- Diseased plants and leaves (could cause disease to spread when compost is applied)
- Persistent weeds (bermuda grass, alligator weed, dock weed, kudzu, ivy, dandelions)
- Black walnut tree leaves or twigs (contains juglone, a natural aromatic compound toxic to some plants)
- Heavily coated paper such as magazines, catalogs, wrapping paper, greeting cards with metallic inks
- Dryer sheets made of polyester covered in chemicals
- Pine needles (high in acid and resin; hard to compost)
- Wood ash (too alkaline; can slow composting process and release ammonia)
- Charcoal ash or coal (may contain substances harmful to plants)
- Used facial or toilet tissue (may contain pathogens)
Publication date: April 11, 2011
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This publication printed on: Nov. 21, 2024