100 Things You Can Compost

Originally printed at http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/

The basics of composting are simple. Almost anything natural or plant-based can be composted; just don’t add meat, bones or a lot of fat, because as they decompose, they will create a smell that will bring every critter for miles to your yard!

Always remember that an effective compost pile is a careful balance of dry or brown things that contain carbon (like leaves or paper) and wet or green things that contain nitrogen (like food scraps or rabbit droppings). So, for example, if you add a lot of shredded paper or cardboard to the pile, you will need to balance it with a nice heap of fresh grass clippings or horse manure, and probably some water from the hose so things don’t get too dry.

And, don’t forget that the smaller you can shred or chop your compostable items before you put them into the pile, the faster and more evenly they will decompose. It’s really worth the extra effort to chop and shred if you plan to use your compost for vegetable gardening, or, simply compost tough, slow things like tree branches and old rope in a separate pile.

The following list is meant to get you thinking about your compost possibilities. Imagine how much trash we could prevent from going into the landfills if each of us just decided to compost a few more things!

From the Kitchen

1. Fruit and vegetable scraps
2. Egg shells (crushed)
3. Coffee grounds
4. Coffee filters
5. Tea bags
6. Loose leaf tea
7. Spoiled soy/rice/almond/coconut milk
8. Used paper napkins and paper towels
9. Unwaxed cardboard pizza boxes (ripped or cut into small pieces)
10. Paper bags (shredded)
11. The crumbs you sweep off of the counters and floors
12. Cooked pasta
13. Cooked rice
14. Stale bread, pitas, or tortillas
15. Stale tortilla chips or potato chips
16. Spoiled pasta sauce or tomato paste
17. Crumbs from the bottom of snack food packaging
18. Paper towel rolls (shredded)
19. Stale crackers
20. Stale cereal
21. Cardboard boxes from cereal, pasta, etc. (Remove any plastic windows and shred)
22. Used paper plates (as long as they don’t have a waxy coating)
23. Nut shells (except for walnut shells, which are toxic to plants)
24. Tofu and tempeh
25. Seaweed, kelp or nori
26. Unpopped, burnt popcorn kernels
27. Old herbs and spices
28. Stale pretzels
29. Stale candy (crushed or chopped)
30. Stale protein or “energy” bars
31. Pizza crusts
32. Old oatmeal
33. Peanut shells
34. Cardboard egg cartons (cut them up)
35. Stale pumpkin, sunflower or sesame seeds (chopped up so they can’t sprout)
36. Avocado pits (chopped up so they don’t sprout)
37. Wine corks (chop up so they decompose faster)
38. Moldy cheese (in moderation)
39. Melted ice cream (in moderation)
40. Old jelly, jam, or preserves
41. Stale beer and wine
42. Toothpicks
43. Bamboo skewers (break them into pieces)
44. Paper cupcake or muffin cups

From the Bathroom

45. Used facial tissues
46. Hair from your hairbrush
47. Trimmings from an electric razor
48. Toilet paper rolls (shredded)
49. Old loofahs (cut up, natural only)
50. Nail clippings
51. Latex condoms
52. 100% cotton cotton balls
53. Cotton swabs made from 100% cotton and cardboard (not plastic) sticks
54. 100% cotton tampons and sanitary pads (including used)
55. Cardboard tampon applicators
56. Menstrual blood
57. Urine

From the Laundry Room

58. Dryer lint
59. Old/stained cotton clothing and jeans (ripped or cut into small pieces)
60. Cotton fabric scraps (shredded)
61. Old wool clothing (ripped or cut into small pieces)
62. Very old cotton towels and sheets (shredded)

From the Office

63. Bills and other plain paper documents (shredded)
64. Envelopes (shredded, minus the plastic window)
65. Pencil shavings
66. Sticky notes (shredded)
67. Old business cards (shredded, as long as they’re not glossy)

Around the House

68. “Dust bunnies”
69. Contents of your vacuum cleaner bag or canister (pick out any inorganic stuff, like pennies or legos
70. Contents of your dustpan (again, pick out any inorganic stuff)
71. Newspapers (shredded or torn into smaller pieces)
72. Junk mail (shredded, remove coated paper and plastic windows)
73. Subscription cards from magazines (shredded)
74. Burlap sacks (cut or torn into small pieces)
75. Old rope and twine (chopped, natural, unwaxed only)
76. Leaves trimmed from houseplants
77. Dead houseplants and their soil
78. Flowers from floral arrangements
79. Natural potpourri
80. Used matches
81. Ashes from the fireplace, barbecue grill, or outdoor fire pits (in moderation)
82. Grass clippings
83. Dead autumn leaves
84. Sawdust (from plain wood that has NOT been pressure-treated, stained or painted)

Party and Holiday Supplies

85. Wrapping paper rolls (cut into smaller pieces)
86. Paper table cloths (shredded or torn into smaller pieces)
87. Crepe paper streamers (shredded)
88. Latex balloons
89. Jack O’lanterns (smashed)
90. Those hay bales you used as part of your outdoor fall decor (broken apart)
91. Natural holiday wreaths (chop up with pruners first)
92. Christmas trees (chop up with pruners first, or use a wood chipper, if you have one…)
93. Evergreen garlands (chop up with pruners first)

Pet-Related

94. Fur from the dog or cat brush
95. Droppings and bedding from your rabbit, gerbil, hamster, etc.
96. Newspaper/droppings from the bottom of the bird or snake cage
97. Feathers
98. Horse, cow or goat manure
99. Alfalfa hay or pellets (usually fed to rabbits, gerbils, etc.)
100. Dry dog or cat food, fish pellets