by: Networx.com
Home composting isn’t just for farmers anymore! The practice is becoming increasingly popular among urban environmentalists who are eager to cut their landfill contributions: from apartment dwellers growing gardens on top of NYC roofing, to folks who participate in their local municipal compost program, to homeowners looking to turn their backyards into a teeny tiny sustainable city farms. Composting is a key component of the eco-friendly puzzle, because it takes waste that’s destined for landfills and turns it into usable, nutrient-rich soil, which is perfect for gardening. Most people focus on kitchen scraps, but that’s just the very tip of the composting iceberg. Did you know you could also include the following? Just be sure that anything you compost is not made from plastic (in the case of the rope) and free of toxic chemicals (sawdust, ashes).
- Dryer lint
- “Dust bunnies”
- The insides of a vacuum bag (just empty the bag into the compost bin)
- The contents of your dustpan (just use discretion)
- Coffee grounds
- Coffee filters
- Tea bags/loose leaf tea
- Soy/rice/almond/etc milk
- Nut shells (but not walnut, which may be toxic to plants)
- Pumpkin/sunflower/sesame seeds (chop them to ensure they won’t grow)
- Avocado pits (chop them up so they won’t sprout)
- Pickles
- Stale tortilla chips/potato chips
- Stale crackers
- Crumbs (bread or other baked goods)
- Old breakfast cereal
- Bran (wheat or oat, etc)
- Seaweed/nori/kelp
- Tofu/tempeh
- Frozen fruits and vegetables
- Expired jam or jelly
- Egg shells
- Old, moldy “soy dairy” and other dairy substitutes
- Stale Halloween candy and old nutrition/protein bars
- Popcorn kernels (post-popping, the ones that didn’t make it)
- Old herbs and spices
- Cooked rice
- Cooked Pasta
- Oatmeal
- Peanut shells
- Booze (beer and wine)
- Wine corks
- Egg cartons (not Styrofoam)
- Toothpicks
- Q-tips (not the plastic ones)
- Bamboo skewers
- Matches
- Sawdust
- Pencil shavings
- Fireplace ash (fully extinguished and cooled)
- Burlap sacks
- Cotton or wool clothes, cut into strips
- Paper towels
- Paper napkins
- Paper table cloths
- Paper plates (non wax- or plastic-coated)
- Crepe paper streamers
- Holiday wreaths
- Balloons (latex only)
- Raffia fibers (wrapping or decoration)
- Excelsior (wood wool)
- Old potpourri
- Dried flowers
- Fresh flowers
- Dead houseplants (or their dropped leaves)
- Human hair (from a home haircut or saved from the barber shop)
- Toenail clippings
- Trimmings from an electric razor
- Pet hair
- Domestic bird and bunny droppings
- Feathers
- Fish food
- Aquatic plants (from aquariums)
- Dog food
- Rawhide dog chews
- Ratty old rope
- The dead flies on the windowsill
- Pizza boxes and cereal boxes (shredded first)
- Toilet paper and paper towel rolls (shredded first)
- Paper muffin/cupcake cups
- Cellophane bags (real cellophane, not regular clear plastic)
- Kleenex (including used)
- Condoms (latex only)
- Old loofas (real, not synthetic)
- Cotton balls
- Tampon applicators (cardboard, not plastic) and tampons (including used)
- Newspaper
- Junk mail
- Old business cards (not the glossy ones)
- Old masking tape
- White glue/plain paste.
