Can You Compost It? The A–Z List
Most plant-based kitchen and garden waste can be composted at home; meat, fish, dairy, oil, pet waste, diseased plants and coated paper cannot. This list gives 18 yes, 12 with-care and 10 no verdicts, with whether each item is a green or a brown.
On this page
The A–Z list
| Material | Compost pile | Type | Worm bin | Bokashi | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avocado pits | Yes | Brown | With care | With care | Slow; crack pits first |
| Banana peels | Yes | Green | Yes | Yes | Soft green; chop and bury to avoid fruit flies |
| Bread | With care | Green | With care | Yes | Breaks down fast but attracts rodents; bury small amounts |
| Cardboard | Yes | Brown | Yes | No | Easy brown; tear up, remove tape |
| Charcoal ash | No | Neither | No | No | Briquette additives; bag it for the trash |
| Cheese | No | Neither | No | Yes | Fatty and smelly; attracts pests |
| Chicken manure | With care | Green | No | No | Very hot nitrogen; compost hot, pathogen caution |
| Citrus peels | Yes | Green | With care | Yes | Fine in piles; chop small, go light in worm bins |
| Coffee grounds | Yes | Green | Yes | Yes | Nitrogen-rich green; mix in, don't layer thick |
| Compostable plastics | With care | Neither | No | No | Most need industrial facilities; look for home-certified |
| Cooked food | With care | Green | With care | Yes | Plain veg OK buried; meat, dairy, oil elsewhere |
| Cooking oil | No | Neither | No | With care | Coats materials, turns rancid; use trash or drop-off |
| Corn cobs | Yes | Brown | With care | With care | Slow but useful; chop cobs, husks break down fast |
| Dairy | No | Neither | No | Yes | Goes rancid and draws pests; use bokashi |
| Diseased plants | No | Neither | No | No | Pathogens survive cool piles; use yard waste or trash |
| Dog and cat poop | No | Neither | No | No | Parasites and pathogens; never near food gardens |
| Dryer lint | With care | Brown | With care | No | Natural-fiber loads only; synthetic lint is microplastic |
| Eggs | With care | Green | With care | Yes | Smell and draw animals; bury a few deep |
| Eggshells | Yes | Neither | Yes | Yes | Adds calcium; crush first, breaks down slowly |
| Fish | No | Neither | No | Yes | Strong smell, attracts animals; use bokashi or city collection |
| Fruit and vegetable scraps | Yes | Green | Yes | Yes | Classic nitrogen-rich green; balance with browns |
| Glossy paper | No | Neither | No | No | Clay and plastic coatings; recycle instead |
| Grass clippings | Yes | Green | With care | With care | Hot green; mix thin with browns or it mats |
| Hair and fur | Yes | Green | With care | No | Nitrogen-rich but slow; spread thin |
| Horse manure | With care | Green | With care | No | Good balance; ask about herbicides and weed seeds |
| Leaves | Yes | Brown | Yes | No | Best free brown; shred to stop matting |
| Meat | No | Neither | No | Yes | Attracts pests and smells; use bokashi or city collection |
| Newspaper | Yes | Brown | Yes | With care | Good brown; shred it, skip glossy inserts |
| Nut shells | Yes | Brown | With care | With care | Slow brown; crush first, go easy on walnut |
| Onions and garlic | Yes | Green | No | Yes | Fine in piles; chop to stop sprouting |
| Paper towels | Yes | Brown | Yes | With care | Quick brown; skip chemical-soaked ones |
| Pine needles | Yes | Brown | With care | No | Slow brown; fine in moderation, not acidifying |
| Receipts | No | Neither | No | No | Thermal paper often coated with BPA or BPS |
| Rice and pasta | With care | Green | With care | Yes | Attracts pests; small amounts buried, or bokashi |
| Sawdust | With care | Brown | With care | No | Very high carbon; untreated wood only, mix well |
| Straw and hay | Yes | Brown | Yes | No | Airy brown; watch hay seeds and herbicide residue |
| Tea bags | With care | Green | Yes | Yes | Leaves compost fine; many bags contain plastic |
| Weeds | With care | Green | With care | With care | Fine before seeding; drown or hot-compost seeds and roots |
| Wood ash | With care | Neither | No | No | Small amounts only; alkaline, untreated wood only |
| Wood chips | Yes | Brown | No | No | Very slow brown; adds airflow, better as mulch |
Nothing matches. Try a broader word, or check the complete guide.
Carbon-to-nitrogen ranges and moisture for each material are on its own page. The dataset is open (CC BY 4.0): data.json.
What the verdicts mean
- Yes: safe for a normal backyard pile or bin. Some still need prep, like shredding or chopping.
- With care: compostable under conditions: small amounts, buried in the center, a hot pile, or only certain kinds. Each page says which.
- No: keep it out of a home pile. The page for each item says what to do instead, often bokashi or a municipal program.
- Green or brown: greens are wet and nitrogen-rich; browns are dry and carbon-rich. Aim for about 2–3 parts browns to 1 part greens by volume. "Neither" means it isn't a green or brown input.
Verdicts are for home composting. City and industrial programs run hotter, managed piles and often accept meat, dairy and certified compostable packaging. Check your local program's list.
Frequently asked questions
What can you not put in a compost bin?
Keep meat, fish, dairy, cooking oil, pet waste, diseased plants, charcoal ash, glossy paper and receipts out of a home compost bin. They attract pests, carry pathogens, or contain chemicals and coatings that a home pile does not break down.
What are the best things to compost?
Fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, grass clippings (greens) balanced with dry leaves, cardboard and straw (browns). Aim for roughly 2–3 parts browns to 1 part greens by volume.
Is it bad to put bread in compost?
Not bad, but it attracts rodents. Add small amounts of plain bread buried in the center of a hot, active pile, or put it in a bokashi bucket. More on bread.
Why can’t you compost meat at home?
Meat smells as it rots and draws rats, raccoons and dogs, and a typical backyard pile doesn’t stay hot enough to reliably kill the bacteria it carries. Bokashi or a municipal food-scrap program handles it. More on meat.
Are compostable plastics really compostable at home?
Most are not. Cups and bags made from PLA usually need the high, steady heat of an industrial facility. Only items certified for home composting suit a backyard bin. More on compostable plastics.
Can I use this list for a worm bin?
Use the worm bin column. Worms are pickier than a pile: they avoid citrus, onions and garlic in quantity and anything salty, oily or spicy. See vermicomposting.