Can I Compost this? Complete guide - 170 THINGS YOU CAN COMPOST

Tony Callaghan 13/04/2022

Check on the internet if an item can or cannot be added to your compost bin and you are likely to get conflicting advice. There are reasons for this (repetition via cut and paste, lack of technical expertise to check and validate, lack of understanding of different types of composting systems and how they change the answer.

Our table below seeks to solve this - in one place, 170 common items are detailed.

The basics

Any item that was a plant or animal is biodegradable by microbes. Composting is a human activity that brings the materials and bacteria together. However, how easy (practical) each item is to compost depends on many factors

Composition - sugars are easy for microbes to digest but woody (lignin) is not
Shredding - small pieces are faster than large
Temperature - items break down faster at high temperatures (X32 faster at 60C vs. 10C).

Table Key: BioD - is it biodegradable, Yes or No Home cold composting - recommended for cold compost heaps. Home hot composting - recommended for hot composting bins. Speed - how fast does it decompose (fast, medium, slow, very slow).

Table

Item	BioD	Home	Home	Speed	Comments
		Cold	Hot
All food	Yes	No	Yes	Fast	See list - varies
Apples, apples pumice	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast
Avocado stones (pits)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Medium
Banana peels	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast
Bokashi digestate	Yes	Yes	Yes	Slow
Bones: chicken, duck, bird, fish	Yes	No	Yes	Slow	OK to hot compost, chop large bones in half with secateurs
Bread	Yes	No	Yes	Fast
Broccoli, stalks, greens	Yes	Yes	Yes	Medium	Chop large pieces to less than 4cm
Cakes, buns, pastry	Yes	No	Yes	Fast
Cereals, bran, oats	Yes	No	Yes	Fast
Cheese	Yes	No	Yes	Fast
Chips	Yes	No	Yes	Fast
Cockle & mussel shells	Yes	No	Yes	Slow	Some can be very slow to compost
Coffee grinds	Yes	Yes	Yes	Slow
Compostable bags	Yes	No	Yes*	Medium	Preferably shred, will take 1-3 months hot, +2 years in cold
Cooked food	Yes	No	Yes	Fast	Yes in hot heap, No in cold heaps - it attracts rats and flies
Corn, corn on cob	Yes	Yes	Yes	Medium	Ensure chopped up (<4cm).
Crab & Lobster shells	Yes	No	Yes	Slow	Some can be very slow to compost
Defrosted (unfrozen) food	Yes	No	Yes	Fast	Must leave to defrost and chop up
Dairy products hard (cheese, butter)	Yes	No	Yes	Fast
Dairy products soft (yoghurt, milk)	Yes	No	No	Fast	Water content to high for effective hot composting
Egg shells	Yes	Yes*	Yes*	Slow	Calcium returned to soil
Fats & cooking oil	Yes	No	Yes*	Medium	Small quantities mixed in, but Not 'half bottle loads
Fish and chip left leftovers	Yes	No	Yes	Fast
Fish 'n' chip box / paper	Yes	No	Yes	Medium	Card and compostable trays, Not polystyrene
Fish, skins, bones	Yes	No	Yes	Fast
Flour	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast	Sprinkle in, avoid large piles
Fruits (apples, pears, peaches, plums, mango, bananas, oranges, etc)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast	All fruits will compost. Stones/nuts take longer. See also citrus fruits and wet foods for melon/water melon
Frozen foods	Yes	No	No	Medium	Frozen food takes too much heat from the heap
Citrus fruits (lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit, pumpkin)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Medium	All citrus fruits will compost. I. Avoid adding citrus fruit peel to wormeries.
Juice pulps (orange, grapefruit)	Yes	No	Yes*		If adding pulp from juicing - take extra care to add bulking agent and balance excess water with shredded paper
Left over curry	Yes	No	Yes	Fast	OK as long as Not very runny (i.e. liquid)
Meat, cooked meat	Yes	No	Yes	Fast	Ensure chopped up (<4cm). No large bones)
Melons	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast	Seeds likely to survive cold composting
Nuts, stones, cherries, avocado, peanuts, pistachio, etc	Yes	Yes	Yes	Slow	Can take many years in cold. Smash with hammer to decrease time
Oils, palm oil, olive oil	Yes	No	No	Medium	Small quantities mixed in, but Not 'half bottle loads
Onions	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast	Avoid adding to wormeries
Pasta	Yes	No	Yes	Fast
Pizza boxes	Yes	No	Yes	Medium
Pineapple	Yes	Yes	Yes	Slow	The yellow fruit will compost fast. Ensure waxy leaves and skin chopped up
Plate scrapings	Yes	No	Yes	Fast	All bits of food left on plate can be hot composted
Potatoes (peelings, whole, green)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast	Chop whole potatoes
Puddings	Yes	No	Yes	Fast
Pumpkin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast	Seeds likely to survive cold composting
Rice, cooked	Yes	No	Yes	Fast
Roast chicken/duck carcass	Yes	No	Yes	Medium	Bones can be added to HOTBIN
Salads (cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast	Take care if large amounts - may need to add shredded paper
Tea bags	Yes	Yes*	Yes*	Medium	Some take longer than others - depends on bag!
Tomatoes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast	Seeds likely to survive cold composting
ALL vegetable & peelings	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast	Always cut up large vegetables.
Walnuts & jugalone	Yes	No	Yes	V Slow	Break nuts with hammer to speed up composting.
Water melon	Yes	Yes	Yes	Fast	Seeds likely to survive cold composting
Yogurt, milk	Yes	No	No*	Fast	HOTBIN does Not like excess water. Best left out
Wood based waste	Yes	Yes	Yes	V Slow
Wood treated with preservatives	Yes	Yes	Yes	V Slow	You need to take care - so cross check the detailed FAQ, but modern preservatives are biodegradable and are compostable.
Card: cereal packets, paper plates	Yes	No	Yes	Slow	Can take a long time in cold, shred when adding to hot.
Card: toilet rolls, kitchen rolls	Yes	Yes	Yes	slow	Can take a long time in cold, shred when adding to hot.
Corrugated cardboard boxes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Medium	Can take a long time in cold, shred when adding to hot.
Egg cartons (Paper!)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Medium
Glossy magazine paper	Yes	No	Yes	Medium	Can take a long time in cold, shred when adding to hot. Read full post as this is poorly understood topic
Laminated papers	No	No	No	Medium	Most laminates are plastic or aluminium foil and are Not compostable
Newspaper	Yes	Yes*	Yes*	Slow	Can be problematic and take long time - best recycled
Paper	Yes	Yes	Yes	Medium

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