Carbon-rich matter (like branches, stems, dried leaves, peels, bits of wood, bark dust or sawdust pellets, shredded brown paper bags, corn stalks, coffee filters, coffee grounds, conifer needles, egg shells, straw, peat moss, wood ash) gives compost its light, fluffy body.
High nitrogen materials include grass clippings, plant cuttings, and fruit and vegetable scraps. Brown or woody materials such as autumn leaves, wood chips, sawdust, and shredded paper are high in carbon.
Coffee grounds have a relatively high nitrogen content, similar to vegetable scraps, so they are generally categorized like food scraps for compost recipe building.
Cardboard and paper can be a valuable resource for the gardener. Being rich in carbon it is useful for balancing compost ingredient.
Without enough brown matter for compost, the wet and nitrogen-rich green matter for compost becomes slimy, attracts insects, and seems slow to change. Bins without enough carbon-rich material also don't produce much volume.
Bad leaves for compost: Bad leaves are those higher in lignin and lower in nitrogen and calcium. These include beech, oak leaves, holly, and sweet chestnut. Also, make sure to avoid using leaves of black walnut and eucalyptus as these plants contain natural herbicides that will prevent seeds from germinating.
Garbage or Compost - Do Not Recycle.
Paper egg cartons can be composted after you remove any shiny paper labels. If you can't remove the label easily, simply compost the bottom of the carton and put the part with the label in your garbage. If you can't compost, put egg cartons in the garbage.
Let's just start out by saying: putting egg shells in your compost is okay; they are a rich source of calcium and other essential nutrients that plants need.
Papter towel and toilet paper rolls can be recycled or composted! If you have a compost pail in the bathroom (which we recommend due to being able to compost tissues and cotton swaps with paper sticks), toilet paper rolls can go into the compost as well!
Special instructions: Drain any excess liquid down the sink before composting filters and tea bags. Remove any staples from the tea bag before composting. Put nylon and other fabric-based tea bags into the garbage (tea leaves can be separated out for the compost).
Peas and beans are the two most common crops used to replenish the nitrogen content of the soil.
The fastest way to gain soil carbon is to convert to long-term no-till, adding high carbon crops (corn and wheat), and adding cover crop mixtures high in carbon (grasses primarily but also legumes to stabilize soil carbon).
Banana peels are a great ingredient for your compost or worm farm, adding lots of nutrients to the organic recycling process.
In general, it's best to err on the side of too much carbon in a compost pile. The worst that can happen is it takes longer to decompose. Extra leaves, straw, and grass clippings, especially when used on the outside of the pile, reduce odor and improve aesthetics.
You can add clippings to the backyard compost pile. Composting involves mixing grass clippings and other plant materials with a small amount of soil containing microorganisms that decompose organic matter. Grass clippings are excellent additions to a compost pile because of their high nitrogen content.
Can I place used paper towels, napkins, and tissue in my compost cart? Yes, absolutely. These items can be composted even if they are wet or stained with food, vegetable oil, or grease.
In short, yes you can compost bread… but it depends on a few factors, in particular what kind of compost setup you're using. Bread is an organic material, and all organic materials should be able to go into your compost.
Your vacuum cleaner sucks up mainly organic matter like breadcrumbs, dead skin particles, sand, and dirt, all of which are organic, and perfectly fine for composting.
The most common type of paper bag you will see are brown paper bags, which are typically available at grocery stores. Most paper bags are made from kraft paper or recycled paper. What is this? Because paper bags are made from paper, they can be recycled and composted most of the time.
Compostable Materials
Cereal boxes are biodegradable, which means that they can decompose. In addition, they are made from paper, so essentially, they would serve as excellent compostable materials. They decay well too, so don't hesitate to chop up your cereal boxes and carefully plant them a little below the soil.
Citrus fruit, tomato products and pickled food products can do harm to your compost. High acidity can actually kill the good bacteria that helps break down the material in your compost pile.