What CAN be Composted in a Home Composting Bin? Over 100 Items!

• 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