Non-Edible Composting Items

In addition to the acceptable food scraps you may have heard you can use for your compost, there are many different organic items you can add too.  Some of the items on the list may surprise you, while others will be ones you have heard of before.  Just remember, by composting these items you are reducing the amount of waste that your home produces - which is beneficial to everyone.

Image via WikipediaAdditional Composting Materials:

*    Lint collected from your dryer
*    Cardboard, cut into strips or small pieces
*    Hair (make sure that is isn’t put in as one large clump)
*    Manure (from a horse, pig, or cow; do NOT use dung or droppings from meat-eating animals such as cats or dogs - these can carry diseases)
*    Tree leaves (cutting or chipping them helps them break down faster)
*    Newspaper (considered brown food), cut into strips.  Do not use the glossy pages and do not add too much (it can dry out the pile)
*    Pine needles and pine cones
*    Coffee grounds and paper filters
*    Sawdust and wood chips (or shavings) as long as it is from untreated wood.
*    Straw -  even better if it is used straw from horse or other animal bedding
*    Grass clippings (green food)
*    Seaweed or algae (you can get these from your home aquarium, or pond, if you have one)

There are a few considerations to think about when choosing from the above list of items.

If you do use dryer lint, it would be wise to only use it from cycles when you washed clothes with natural fibers – man-made fibers would not break down well in your compost.  If you are using your compost for your garden be extra careful that everything you add has not been treated with chemicals – such as grass clippings.   If any type of commercial fertilizer or pesticide has been sprayed on the grass do not add it to your compost bin.  Larger items should be broken down as much as possible to speed up their decomposition.

That should give you a few ideas for reducing and using other household waste in your composting efforts. Feel free to share your own below, as well!