When trying to figure out what to compost you may already know that you can compost food waste such as vegetable and fruit scraps, uneaten food, and some plant material. But there are actually a lot more things that can go in your compost bin. Especially the category of compost materials called ‘browns’ which are non-edible compostable materials. Browns are important in composting because they are carbon which is necessary for the microbes in the compost. They also help provide air pockets that help air flow and make sure that microorganisms get the oxygen they need to function.
Things you may not think of composting:
- Tea bags
- Brown paper bags (tear them up first)
- Untreated wood like disposable chopsticks, coffee stirrers and skewers
- Pet hair or human hair (not feces)
- Coffee filters and coffee grounds
- Pencils and pencil shavings
- Non food plant material like from houseplants
- Cotton balls and q tips (as long as the sticks are paper or cardboard not plastic)
- Paper towels, tissues and napkins
- Cardboard (tear or shred it first)
- Paper such as newspaper, homework, bills (just tear it up)
- Cotton rags (only if you know they are 100% not synthetic and cut into small pieces)
- Dead flowers
- Paper napkins
- Egg cartons (tear them up)
