By Lara Kimbrell of The SNSPost

If you consider yourself a green living person, you probably are concerned about limiting the amount of garbage you send to the landfill. At my house we do two things: recycle and compost. A family of 5 can create a lot of waste! Packaging is a problem best solved through recycling, but there seems to be an endless list of other sources of extra stuff to deal with. I’ve scoured the lists from lots of experts and compiled them into my own list of what can go into our compost bin. Before I get to the list, I want to explain two strategies in composting.

Composting produces nutrient rich soil that is great for your garden or flower beds. You can fill raised beds with compost for a fabulous growing environment for vegetables. But composting takes time and a little bit of planning. There are two basic strategies to composting: batch composting and heap composting. If you are in an urban setting and are concerned with the smell or space that a compost heap takes up, you should consider batch composting in a tumbler. I purchased a tumbling composter last year, and I love it. It is basically a barrel on a stand that locks into place then releases so that you can spin it while a spiked axis inside stirs the compost. If you put it in a sunny place, balance brown (carbon) and green (nitrogen) materials, and tumble it every 2-3 days, you will have nice finished compost in about a month. I use this method with small things that I know will decompose quickly. I also leave a bit of compost from the previous batch in the tumbler to give the new batch a quicker start. A larger, slower strategy is to create a compost heap.

The first critical decision to make in planning a compost heap is location. An unbalanced compost heap can smell a bit unpleasant, so it’s best to plan for that even if you’re a composting genius and never have to deal with an unbalanced heap! Along the Texas Gulf coast, we get a nearly constant sea breeze from the south-east. So I will put my heap on the north-west side of my property. Make sense? I also want it to be in a location that is at least 2 feet away from any structure and out of standing water. Heaps can be free-standing or enclosed. They will have to be turned with a pitch fork periodically, so you want to have access to your heap. However, some people have to build an enclosure to keep nosy critters out. This little raccoon now has a new home in the woods about 20 miles from where we found him. He’s such a cute little bandit! The first layer of your heap should always be a bed of sticks. That will allow air into the heap which is critical for decomposition. If you have the space, go with both types. That way you always have a place to put your scraps (the heap) and a place to quickly process larger batches of materials like dried leaves and grass clippings (the tumbler).

Kitchen scraps are just the tip of the composting iceberg. You may be amazed at the variety of items that you can compost. A general rule to follow is that smaller pieces are better, so you may need to tear/shread some items. Never add synthetic materials, grass clippings that have been treated with chemicals, or greasy food scraps. Here are 100 items you can add to your compost heap. The garbage collectors are going to thank you for a lighter load!

1. Dryer lint
2.  “Dust bunnies”
3. The insides of a vacuum bag (just empty the bag into the compost bin)
4. The contents of your dustpan (just use discretion)
5. Coffee grounds
6. Coffee filters
7. Tea bags/loose leaf tea
8. Soy/rice/almond/etc milk
9. Nut shells, crushed (but not walnut, which may be toxic to plants)
10. Seeds (chop them to ensure they won’t grow)
11. Avocado pits (chop them up so they won’t sprout)
12. Pickles
13. Fruit peel and cores
14. Vegetable peels
15. Stale tortilla chips/potato chips
16. Stale crackers
17. Crumbs (bread or other baked goods)
18. Old breakfast cereal
19. Bran (wheat or oat, etc)
20. Seaweed/nori/kelp
21. Tofu/tempeh
22. Frozen fruits and vegetables
23. Expired jam or jelly
24. Egg shells
25. Old, moldy “soy dairy” and other dairy substitutes
26. Freezer burned fruit and vegetables
27. Stale Halloween candy and old nutrition/protein bars
28. Popcorn kernels (post-popping, the ones that didn’t make it)
29. Corn cobs and stalks (chop)
30. Brown paper bags
31. Old herbs and spices
32. Cooked rice
33. Cooked Pasta
34. Oatmeal
35. Peanut shells
36. Shrimp, crab, lobster, and crawfish shells
37. Tree bark
38. Wooden tooth picks
39. Hay
40. Grass clippings
41. Weeds that haven’t produced seeds
42. Leaves
43. Corks
44. Egg cartons, paper
45. Toothpicks
46. Q-tips (not the plastic ones)
47. Bamboo Skewers
48. Matches (burned)
49. Sawdust (from untreated lumber)
50. Pencil shavings
51. Chicken manure (well dried)
52. Cow manure (well dried)
53. Fireplace ash (fully extinguished and cooled, mix in small amounts only)
54. Burlap sacks
55. Cotton or wool clothes, cut into strips
56. Alfalfa pellets
57. Wood shavings from hamster/guinea pig cages
58. Paper towels
59. Paper napkins
60. Paper table cloths
61. Paper plates (non wax- or plastic-coated)
62. Crepe paper streamers
63. Balloons (latex only)
64. Raffia fibers (wrapping or decoration)
65. Excelsior (wood wool)
66. Old potpourri
67. Dried flowers
68. Fresh flowers
69. Dead houseplants (or their dropped leaves)
70. Human hair (from a home haircut or saved from the barber shop)
71. Toenail clippings
72. Trimmings from an electric razor
73. Pet hair
74. Feathers
75. Domestic bird and bunny droppings
76. Feathers
77.  Fish food
78. Aquatic plants (from aquariums)
79. Dry dog food
80. Rawhide dog chews
81. Dry cat food
82. Ratty old rope, not synthetic
83. The dead flies on the windowsill
84. Pizza boxes and cereal boxes (shredded first)
85. Toilet paper and paper towel rolls (shredded first)
86. Paper muffin/cupcake cups
87. Kleenex (including used)
88. Condoms (latex only)
89. Old loofas (real, not synthetic)
90. Cotton balls
91. Natural sponges
92. Tampon applicators (cardboard, not plastic)
93. Tampons (including used)
94. Newspaper
95. Junk mail
96. Old business cards (not the glossy ones)
97. Old masking tape
98. Greeting card envelopes
99. White glue/plain paste
100. Urine (nitrogen accelerates breakdown and urine adds great micronutrients)

My little guy eating a rainbow on St. Patrick's Day! He loves to pee on the compost pile! LOL

That ought to keep you busy for a while! And just think of all of the rich soil you are going to have at your disposal for free. Oh, and item 100 may seem a bit strange, but if you have little boys running around your house, have them go out and pee on the compost heap occasionally. They will get a kick out of it, and your compost heap will really benefit from the nitrogen and mineral boost!

Lara Kimbrell, AKA GreenTXmom & Physicschick, is a wife & mother to three precious little boys. Her family is her whole world & inspire her in so many ways. Also a regular contributor to The SNSPost & a published childrens author, she’s a physicist w/ a degree from Texas A&M & taught H.S. physics for years.  She became interested in environmental health due to her oldest son’s asthma & inspired by her curious children she writes to engage all children in the amazing world of physical sciences.

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