What can I compost?
If it can rot it will compost, but some items are best avoided. Some things, like grass mowings and soft young weeds, rot quickly. They work as 'activators' or 'hotter rotters', getting the composting started, but on their own will decay to a smelly mess.
Older and tougher plant material is slower to rot but gives body to the finished compost - and usually makes up the bulk of a compost heap. Woody items decay very slowly; they are best chopped or shredded first, where appropriate.
For best results, use a mixture of types of ingredient.
The right balance is something you learn by experience.
Compost ingredients
Hotter rotters (activators)
- Comfrey leaves
- Young weeds
- Grass cuttings
- Chicken manure
- Pigeon manure
Other compostable items
- Wood ash
- Cardboard
- Paper towels & bags
- Cardboard tubes
- Egg boxes
A balanced diet
- Fruit and vegetable scraps
- Tea bags
- Coffee grounds
- Old flowers
- Bedding plants
- Old straw & hay
- Vegetable plant remains
- Strawy manures
- Young hedge clippings
- Soft prunings
- Perennial weeds
- Gerbil, hamster & rabbit bedding
Slow cookers - very slow to rot
- Autumn leaves
- Tough hedge clippings
- Woody prunings
- Sawdust
- Wood shavings
Best avoided
- Meat
- Fish
- Newspaper
- Cooked food
Do NOT compost
- Coal & coke ash
- Cat litter
- Dog faeces
- Disposable nappies
- Glossy magazines
Next - How do I make my compost?
Page updated: October 17th, 2006 3:58 pm
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