As we know composting is a great act. Your decision to compost is applaudable. You’ve chosen to remove some percentage from your household waste stream. By doing this you are reducing the burden from landfills and mother earth will thank you for this. Now that you’ve made this decision, you need to take it a step further by knowing what should or shouldn’t go into your compost bin. Although anything that was once living can be compostable, there are still over 100 things you CANNOT compost.
Meat scraps, for example, is one thing that is better left out of your compost pile. While they are definitely compostable and beneficial to the soil, adding them will attract scavengers/animals like raccoons, foxes, rats, and even cats. And then there’s all the nasty stink of rotting meat you would do well to avoid.
Now that you know that, I bet you are dying to know if there are other things that shouldn’t be in your compost pile. Not to worry, I’ve compiled a detailed room by room list of things that should NOT go into your compost bin. Enjoy!
Contents
Kitchen
- Fish and meat scraps: Fish and meat are organic and will definitely enrich your soil but while they are compostable and offer nutritional benefits to your soil, adding them to your compost pile is a sure recipe for disaster. This is because of scavengers like mice, raccoons, rats, foxes, opossums and even cats in your neighborhood. The last thing you would want is these animals ransacking your compost pile and then, there’s all that nasty stink of rotting fish which isn’t inviting.
- Cartons/juice boxes with a coating of metal.
- Walnuts: they are toxic and should not be added to your compost
- Cooking oil: Let’s face it, cooking oil smells like food to insects and animals. What’s worse? They can upset the compost moisture balance and slow down the composting process.
- Tomatoes: while they can certainly decompose, there’s a chance they can sprout in your garden.
- Dairy products: dairy products like cheese, milk, and butter will benefit your soil but it would also attract rodents to your compost bin. Add only if you used a closed compost bin.
- Nylon fabric
- Foamed plastic cups
- Coated juice boxes
- Salad dressing
- Peanut butter
- Sickly labels on vegetables and fruits: I bet you didn’t see this coming. Well, sticky labels and price tags on vegetables and fruits do not biodegrade because they are made from food-grade vinyl or plastic. Be sure to remove them from food and vegetables before adding them to your compost pile
- Coated milk cartons
- Water bottles
- Grocery bags
- Coated cereal cartons
- Rayon or synthetic tea bags
- Coconuts
- Cheese, which attracts rodents
- Grease
- Fat
- Bones
- Vacuum bags
- Take out containers
- Meat trays
- Pickles
- Grease
- Yogurt
- Lime has a high alkaline PH and can interfere with the composting process.
- Biodegradable coffee cups
- Compostable utensils
- Sod
- Diseased plants
- Manure and feces of carnivorous animals: feces of your cats, dogs, and other carnivorous animals must never find its way into your compost bin. This is because they are can carry parasites and pathogens that transmit infectious diseases that are harmful to humans
- Leather
- Synthetic fertilizers
- Bermuda grass
- Dock weed
- African couch grass
- Bindweed
- Treated wood products
- Morning glory
- Rhubarb leaves
- Grass clippings or plants treated with herbicides or pesticides
- Synthetic fertilizers
- Weeds seeds or other weeds which may set down roots and continue to grow in your compost pile.
Garage
- Paints
- Tyres
- Cable wires
- Metal scraps
- Metals
Den
- CDs
- DVDs
- Silver foil
- Pen refills
Bathroom
- Old towels that are not 100% cotton Plastic combs
- Hairdryer
- Toothbrush
- Face wipes
- Personal hygiene products: tissue papers, sanitary pads and any other material stained with human blood should not be found in your compost pile.
- Diapers
- Store-bought shampoos that contain chemicals
- Dryer sheets.
- Dental floss
- Baby wipes
- Store-bought soaps that contain chemicals that will slow down the composting process
- Dyes
Study/home office
- Elastic bands
- The plastic window from envelopes
- Glossy and coated papers: Catalogs, colored newspaper, and other paper with a glossy appearance should not be thrown in your compost bin.
- Glossy junk mail
- Cigarette butts that are made from plastic
Other items around the house
- Iron nails
- Glass objects
- Rocks
- Construction materials
- Plastic wrap
- Glass jars
- Treated sawdust: While sawdust is great at absorbing excess moisture in wet compost, it must be untreated, unpainted and unstained. Even so, treated sawdust should be added moderately
- Monofilament fishing line
- Tin cans
- Rubber-boot sole
- Plastic bag
- Plastic: they will never break down so its best you avoid it.
- Metal
- Glass
- Aluminum foil
- Charcoal barbecue
- Lint
- Straws
- Twist ties
- Synthetic pesticides or herbicides will upset the chemical balance of your compost pile and most likely kill worms and microorganisms essential to the composting process, so its best you avoid throwing it in.
- Bottles
- Oleander leaves (are toxic to plants and should not be thrown into your compost bin)
- Coated paper
- Demolition materials
- Dead animals which will contaminate your compost pile
Bedroom
- Non-cotton clothing material
- Perfumes
- Leather wallets and belts
Here it is friends, my helpful list of 100 things you definitely do NOT want to compost. Take care out there!