Reduce home and garden waste by compost these rude items .
Marty Baldwin
Home gardeners do n’t need to fix their compost piles to grass clippings , vegetable peels , eggshells , and other kitchen fight . Mostorganic materials can be compostedin an indoor oroutdoor compost binas long as those compost constituent are kept moist , aerated , and pass on enough time to separate down . To get you started , here are 18 often overlooked item you’re able to add to compost piles to thin wastefulness , make more compost , and make your home and garden more eco - well-disposed .
Credit:Marty Baldwin
1. Bulky Garden and Kitchen Waste
Cornstalks , pumpkin vines , and other bulky industrial plant debris left over from the gardening time of year can be tossed into compost nap as long as they are free of disease , gadfly , and weed germ . Watermelon rinds , corn cob , and pineapple top often cease up in the shabu , but even these bad items are compostable .
2. Natural Decor
If you decorate for the holidays withjack - group O - lantern , hay bales , chaplet , and garlands made of natural materials , you’re able to compost those token , too . Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree can also be compost , although they ’ll break down faster if you shred them or cut them into small pieces first .
3. Fruit Pits and Nut Shells
Prunings from fruit tree diagram are often composted , but do n’t throw out those nut shells , cherry and peach pits , and avocado ejaculate after use up them . When turn over enough time in the compost pile , these items will all rick into compost .
Beware of adding material from fateful walnut tree diagram to a composter . Nuts , wood , and leaves from these tree diagram may still put out the toxic chemical jugloneafter you compost them .
4. Compostable Paper Items
Used paper towels , serviette , paper straws , theme java filter , and paper collection plate are all biodegradable , so do n’t be shy about add together them to your compost pile . However , like other carbon - copious items , paper product break down tardily in the absence of nitrogen , so remember to mix in somenitrogen - rich kitchen scrapsany time you add paper pieces to your composter .
5. Hair, Fur, Feathers, and Nail Clippings
While it ’s common praxis to chuck out hair and favored fur out of doors as nesting material for risky wench , long tomentum can be a tangle hazard for wildlife and essay wild . For a dependable solution , topographic point hair , fur , nail clippings , and undyed feathers in thecompost bin . After all , these item are all composed of keratin , a biodegradable protein .
6. Some Shredded Paper
Because glossy magazine paper and some coloured ink may carry material you do n’t require in your compost pile , always be choosy about the paper products you compost . theme items labeled as “ compostable , ” browned newspaper lunch bags , and newspapers publish with Glycine max - free-base ink are usually safe to compost . However , rip up these detail first to avail them decay quicker .
7. Dryer Lint
Compost drier lint only if it ’s raise from 100 % natural fabrics , like cotton and hemp . Lint generate from polyester and other synthetical fibers should be cast in the trash because it ’s not biodegradable .
8. Vacuum Dust and Dust Bunnies
Dust collected from around your home and gather up in your vacuum is usually compostable . Just pick out synthetic materials , like low routine of carpet and stray pennies , which wo n’t break down in a compost bin .
9. Cardboard
Like shredded paper , cardboard can be wrick into compost as long as the composition board is n’t glossy or covered in colored ink . Pizza boxes , cereal boxes , theme towel tube , and cardboard egg cartonful all fall into this category , although they should be shredded or torn into small pieces for quicker composting .
Use heavy pieces of composition board forlasagna gardeningor as biodegradable weed barriers .
10. Coffee Grounds and Tea Bags
Many gardeners overlookcoffee groundsand loose - leaf tea , but these natural item make first-class compost . you’re able to even compost teatime bags , string and all , as long as the bags are made of newspaper or muslin and do n’t contain staple or microplastics .
11. Wine Corks
Some modern vino corks are made of synthetic materials or are surface in credit card , which is not compostable . However , if you have wine corks made of natural cork , you’re able to add them to your compost atomic pile as carbon - rich ingredient . For faster composting , prune Cork into small pieces andmix them with kitchen scrapsand other green or atomic number 7 - rich composting material .
12. Seaweed
Coastal gardener can use nitrogen - ample seaweed to bulk up compost piles or apply seaweed as a weed - suppressing mulch . However , it ’s significant to only gather seaweed from clean area and with right permission . To reduce your impingement , only harvest loose seaweed that ’s not attached to rock and roll , shake seaweed as you go to dislodge insects and other small critters , and never take in more than 1/10 of the seaweed you witness .
13. Natural Loofahs
actual loofahs are made from dried gourd and are fully compostable once they ’ve reached the death of their usefulness . If you ’re committed to zero - wastefulness keep , you’re able to evengrow your own natural loofah spongesbyplanting loofahgourd seeds in spring .
14. Wooden Skewers and Toothpicks
Sawdust and wood shavings are ordinarily bestow to compost heap as carbon - fat ingredients , but you could also happen other woodwind instrument items around your home that make fantabulous compost . Bamboo skewers , for example , can be used as “ chocolate-brown ” ingredients in compost piles , but you’re able to also compost wooden ice lolly sticks , wooden toothpick , and compostable wooden cutlery .
15. Cotton Balls and Cotton Swabs
Cotton swabs and cotton plant Lucille Ball are compostable as long as they ’re made of 100 % cotton wool and do n’t hold plastic or synthetical sticks . For food rubber , avoid compost cotton items that have come in in verbatim contact with chemical substance you do n’t want in your food for thought garden , such as nail polish remover .
16. Natural Fabrics and Fibers
Clothing detail that still have lifespan left in them can be donate to Greek valerian shop class or shared with friends , but if you have habiliment made from 100 % cotton wool , hemp , or another born cloth that ’s too bedraggled to be regifted , recycled , or repaired , shred that fabric and sum up it to your composter . raw gunny , circle , and twine can also be composted if you rationalize it into small piece .
17. Ashes
Do n’t throw out theashes from your fireplaceor firepit . ash left over after burn instinctive , untreated and unpainted Sir Henry Joseph Wood can append extra nutrients to compost gobs and make compost less acid . However , avoid compost ashes from oxford grey briquettes , as they may contain additives you do n’t want in your food for thought garden .
