Items You Can't Compost

We love to compost at our house but at first, I was a little uncomfortable with it. I wasn't sure what types of items can be composted. I always worried, "Is this ok?" or "Will this hurt the balance in my compost?" So I started researching to find out what can be composted and what cannot.

Though recycling and composting are two of the most important eco-friendly practices you can take on, there are some things that are bad for the environment. Just like there are certain things that you cannot recycle, there are certain foods and items that cannot be composted.

Here are some things you can't compost:

1. Cooking oil-There are two main problems with cooking oil; it smells like food and attracts pests and it can also affect the moisture balance in the compost. Oil can be a mess to try to clean out once you've put it in there, too so best to just avoid it.

2. Bread, cakes and pastas- The problem with these items is not that they won't break down properly but that they will be a huge attraction to unwanted pests.

3. Meat products- Meat products, including bones, fish or fats will draw too many pests to your compost.

4. Human and animal feces- Some people debate this one but there is a high risk to your health with this one and it's best left avoided unless you are an expert and know how to handle it without health risk.

5. Rice- Cooked rice brings bacteria to your compost which you do not want and raw rice will again draw in the pests in unmanageable proportions.

6. Sawdust- There are good things about sawdust but if the wood was treated, it's a problem to your compost pile. Unless you are positive the wood was untreated, skip the sawdust.

7. Diseased plants- The problem here is that you can transfer disease or fungus from the dying plants to your compost.

8. Walnuts- There is an ingredient in walnuts that can actually be toxic to some plants. It can be hazardous to put them in your compost.

9. Products soiled with bodily fluids- Diapers or sanitary items or anything with human blood or fluids are a health risk. While they may be compostable on their own, once soiled with bodily fluids, you need to keep them out of the compost.

10. Ashes from the grill- If you use charcoal briquettes (like my husband does), then avoid using the ashes from the grill in your compost because the charcoal contains petroleum products.

Some of these things I knew about already but others were news to me. My research also showed me some things you can compost that I did not know about before like toilet paper rolls, wine, old spices and paper egg cartons. If you want to get the most from your composting, take the time to find out what you can and cannot compost.