The smaller you can make your organic material, the more you can fit in your household receptacle and the faster it will break down in the compost bin.
We also turn things by hand with a shovel/pithfork, so need your help to make it manageable. Please take a few minutes to chop your broccoli/brussels sprout stalks, cut all plant vines, and anything else that is dense in nature. Please see our Kompost Kids Kitchen Flyer 2025 for signage you can print, laminate, and post in your kitchen.
What’s In?
From the House
- Fruit and vegetable scraps
- Baked goods, including bread
- Rice, grains, and pasta
- Paper towels and napkins
- Shredded paper plates or cups (non-lined/no plastic coating)
- Tea leaves and paper tea bags (should tear easily)
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Egg shells
- Nonglossy SHREDDED cardboard or paper (newspaper or printer paper)
From the Yard
- Leaves (go into our BROWN SOURCE)
- Nondiseased plants and garden trimmings – please cut down vines/stalks to < 5 inches
What’s Out?
From the House
- All meat scraps, including chicken
- Fish and shellfish
- Bones
- Fat, grease, and oils
- All dairy products, including cheese
- Dryer Lint or Dryer Sheets
- Plastic Tea Bags
- All coffee pods (even if it says biodegradable — these are not compostable)
- Plastic bags (including compostable certified — they don’t break down easily in a garden, and some have been found to have harmful residuals)
- Any thick compostable plastic (utensils, cups)
- Glossy cardboard or paper
From the Yard
- Weeds that have gone to seed
- Diseased plants
- Large branches, roots, and thorny stems
- Animal waste and bedding (including cat/dog waste)
- Coal or charcoal ash
- Anything treated with pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides