Fruit and vegetable scraps
Egg shells (crushed)
Coffee grounds
Coffee filters
Loose leaf tea and tea bags (Make sure they are made of natural materials like hemp or cotton, and not rayon or other synthetics. If in doubt, just open it and compost the tea leaves alone.)
Spoiled soy/rice/almond/coconut milk
Used paper napkins and paper towels
Unwaxed cardboard pizza boxes (ripped or cut into small pieces)
Paper bags (shredded)
The crumbs you sweep off of the counters and floors
Legumes
Cooked pasta
Cooked rice
Stale bread, pitas, or tortillas
Stale tortilla chips or potato chips
Spoiled pasta sauce or tomato paste
Crumbs from the bottom of snack food packaging
Paper towel rolls (shredded)
Stale crackers
Stale cereal
Cardboard boxes from cereal, pasta, etc. (Remove any plastic windows and shred)
Used paper plates (as long as they don’t have a waxy coating)
Nut shells (except for walnut shells, which are toxic to plants)
Tofu and tempeh
Seaweed, kelp or nori
Unpopped, burnt popcorn kernels
Old herbs and spices
Stale biscuits
Stale lollies (crushed or chopped)
Stale protein or “energy” bars
Pizza crusts
Old oatmeal
Peanut shells
Cardboard egg cartons (cut them up)
Stale pumpkin, sunflower or sesame seeds (chopped up so they can’t sprout)
Avocado pits (chopped up so they don’t sprout)
Wine corks (chop up so they decompose faster)
Moldy cheese (in moderation)
Melted ice cream (in moderation)
Old jelly, jam, or preserves
Stale beer and wine
Toothpicks (wooden or bamboo)
Bamboo skewers (break them into pieces)
Paper cupcake or muffin cups (was free)
Fur from the dog or cat brush
Droppings and bedding from your rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, etc.
Newspaper/droppings from the bottom of the bird or snake cage
Feathers
Horse, cow, chicken or goat manure, etc
Alfalfa hay or pellets (usually fed to rabbits, guinea pigs, etc.)
Dry dog or cat food, fish pellets
Dead insects (cockroaches, etc)
Contents of your vacuum cleaner bag or canister (pick out any inorganic stuff, like coins or legos)
Contents of your dustpan (again, pick out any inorganic stuff)
Newspapers (shredded or torn into smaller pieces)
Junk mail (shredded, remove coated paper and plastic windows)
Subscription cards from magazines (shredded)
Hession bags (cut or torn into small pieces)
Old rope and twine (chopped, natural, unwaxed only)
Leaves trimmed from houseplants
Dead houseplants and their soil
Flowers from floral arrangements
Natural potpourri
Used matches
Ashes from the fireplace, barbecue grill, or outdoor fire pits (in moderation)
Grass clippings
Dead autumn leaves
Sawdust (from plain wood that has NOT been pressure-treated, stained or painted)
Party and Holiday Supplies
Wrapping paper rolls (cut into smaller pieces)
Paper table cloths (shredded or torn into smaller pieces)
Crepe paper streamers (shredded)
Latex balloons
Paper lanterns (smashed)
Those hay bales you used as part of your outdoor decor (broken apart)
Natural holiday wreaths (chop up with pruners first)
Christmas trees (chop up with pruners first, or use a wood chipper, if you have one…)
Evergreen garlands (chop up with pruners first)
Used facial tissues
Hair from your hairbrush
Trimmings from an electric razor
Toilet paper rolls (shredded)
Old loofahs (cut up, natural only)
Nail clippings
Latex condoms
100% cotton, cotton balls
Cotton swabs made from 100% cotton and cardboard (not plastic) sticks
100% cotton tampons and sanitary pads (including used)
Cardboard tampon applicators
Menstrual blood
Urine
Dryer lint (from natural fabrics only!)
Old/stained cotton clothing and jeans (ripped or cut into small pieces)
Cotton fabric scraps (shredded)
Old wool clothing (ripped or cut into small pieces)
Very old cotton towels and sheets (shredded)
Bills and other plain paper documents (shredded)
Envelopes (shredded, minus the plastic window)
Pencil shavings
Sticky notes (shredded)
Old business cards (shredded, as long as they’re not glossy / laminated)