30 things you should never compost or recycle
Though recycling and composting are two of the most important green practices, there are some items that are bad for the environment. Follow these guidelines for best practices.
LIKE OIL AND WATER: These items don't mix with recycling. (Photo: john nolan photography/Flickr) 
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I dump anything the amimals will eat with my compost, let them have extra food. what they leave will compost down.
The stray cats keep down rats and mice.
cool
One overlooked way to recycle is a good wood burning stove. They now have stoves with catalytic converters that greatly reduce particulates. These stoves are also 80% heat efficient. So, greasy pizza boxes, dyed paper, cooking oil, and many other things can be safely burned for heat, reduce your fossil fuel use, and bypass landfills. Kinda pricey to install but a nice addition on a cold day.
#31. Relatives should not be composted. I know you saw Vinnie and Aldo do it all the time on The Sopranos, but that was just a movie.
I compost bread and citrus peelings, no varmint problems. the orange and tangerine peelings add some citric aroma, scent or wahtever, and may reduce the pH or your compsot, but apart fotm that no problem.
Yeah, this is kind of silly. Of course you can compost bread...haha. If you get "varmints" then either close the pile off" or move it. I compost almost all of those things without any problems at all.
If you havr municipal food waste compost like many of us here in the Bay Area, yoy actually CAN compost meat, bones, pizza bozes, etc etc..
Many of the things you say not to compost...dandelions, rice, cooking oil, bread...I have composted for years and have never had a problem.
I compost everything food related, including bread (my own whole grain) & oil. I'm vegetarian so no animal products go in.
BREAD: After reading the article and the comments, I'm still left in doubt as to whether I can compost bread. I have a composting barrel that I spin by hand. Would plain ol' store bought white bread even add anything worthwhile to compost? Would bread be considered a "brown" product? And if the concern is about bread turning slimy, would it be better for compost if I toast it?
NEWSPAPER: I can compost it if soy or plant-based inks are used, but otherwise not? And I shouldn't compost the.... More
Great questions. Moldy bread is a no-no. Store bought white bread wouldn't add anything worthwhile to the compost. I have read that most people that compost bread either grind it up or soak it into a mush before composting.
Shiny inserts are theoretically ok, but the coating on them makes them slow to compost.
As far as cooking oil--have you considered talking to a local restaurant to see if they will take it to add to theirs--where it ends up as.... More
Many thanks for all the suggestions!
Back to the bread for a minute...I have a large quantity of the bread that is fresh but can't be eaten (I know that sounds odd, but that's the case...don't ask, and I won't tell...LOL), and I just can't bring myself to throw it away! Could it be useful for anything at all (like animal food, etc.)?
And would bread normally count as a brown component for compost? Newspaper/paper is a "brown," right?
Your comment about no moldy bread.... More
This was very helpful! I've always wondered about whether pizza boxes were okay. We compost napkins where I work.
-Valerie (www.earthbongo.com)
Most of these tips only pertain to the type of composting that most people do; putting kitchen scraps and lan clippings in a pile and turning it a lot. High heat composting breaks down fats, bones, pharmecueticals, and gives amazing compost that never needs turning! I use a sawdust toilet, put almost all kitchens scraps, bones from making traditional bone broths, large bones, sawdust or wheat bran with 'humanure" in it. What dark beautiful soil comes after just a year...and IO never nned use.... More
I've been tempted to throw some dicey things into the recycling. This article clears up a lot, thanks!
Good article. I'd like to add that there are several ways of composting including hot/cold piles/bins/windrows etc, bokashi and worms. Many of the never compost products mentioned above can be utilised in the bokashi/worm composting without issue. As always we should not rely on just one method to fufil a tas as all methods have their advantages/benefits and disadvantage/restrictions
I was about to compost some brown rice leftovers and am glad you listed pastas, etc.so thank you for the information.I also wondered about citrus because I've been told NOT to compost those fruits. Seems a shame, but I'll follow that advice as well.
Like the books The Humanure Handbook which someone else mentioned, as well as the How To Sh*t In The Woods book. Both have excellent information on the do's and don't of the subject. Where we live there is a drop off place for toxic items, paints, oils etc. We also got a insert in the mail reminding people to not flush their meds down the toilet, but take them to the drug stores in the area, or any doctors office.
And I agree 100% with others who remind people to talk to their.... More
YOU CAN RECYCLE SO MANY THINGS ON THIS WEBSITE AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE WRONG AND I DISAGREE
veryyyy bad
I co-direct a recycling and commercial compost operation in Austin, TX. A couple things...just because they pick it up, doesn't mean it's getting recycled. Many materials are washed out down the line, and the actual recycling downstream is contingent on a market for that material existing that makes it lucrative enough to pursue. So much of this is very regional. Also, many plastics that do not have a market are melted down into "fuel cubes" often after being shipped to China. They call it.... More
Then what do we compost? Because most animals eat veggies... so What? This is a crappy article. Tell us what to compost because some of us are too stupid to know what we can compost.
Google compost and extension and you will get to websites of several Co-operative Extensions where you will find lists of compostable items. However, they too will steer you away from animal products and human or pet waste. This is understandable for the average backyard pile which is not well enough managed to get hot. However, if you do manage a hot pile, you can compost anything organic, absolutely anything.
Consult sites like .... More
I said it before Guinea Pigs eat a lot of fruits and veggies that would normally compost but the Never Recycle List is way off, if you dont put it in the Recycle Bin thats fine BUT YOU CAN RECYCLE IT!!! Visit www.FreeRecyclingQuotes.com for more places to recycle odd ball stuff.
Accepts almost everything in the non-compost list for the municipal compost (not the feces and such, obviously). I can have wine grown using my spring allergy tissues in a few years.
A little research helps find a place that takes many of the things in the don't recycle list.
Every community should be so lucky. We all could be, if only it weren't all privatized.
Local authorities here have a great composting program that is 100% voluntary. Very unlike the socialist system in USSR West.
A lot depends on what type of composting set up a person has as well as where in the country a person lives. I will usually feed rice and homemade bread scraps to my chickens, but have composted them using the pit method, where they I also layer cut grass, some shredded paper, dirt, and fruit peels and then more dirt so the entire area is covered in dirt. And have composted in a composter that gets turned every week to remix everything.
And yes, a person can compost paper as long as.... More
i'm a 'certified master composter' and you can compost anything that was "once living". i might add that i'm a cold-composter - i pile it on and let nature take it's course.
"everything once living" includes dryer lint (we wear lots of cotton and cotton-blend clothes). have freezer-burned meat? bury it deep in your compost pile.
bury it deep enough and you can compost anything that once lived. the only thing we don't compost are oils and fats.
You can also save those types of meat product scraps and give them to someone's dog.
"Diseased" plants? lol, try deceased
They do mean "diseased". If a plant has mold, or fungus or some other disease, you don't want to compost it, as the mold or fungus could spread. They explain that right in the article.
If your compost pile is heating up as much as it should, mold and/or diseased plants shouldn't be a problem. The heat from the pile will usually kill the unwanted organisms. And like everything else, one has to use good judgment. Really nasty, diseased plants should go in the trash, but stuff with some diseased leaves and such...compost away.
Just about anything you compost could potentially attract pests...ie dogs, racoons, possums, insects, etc... If you are that worried about it I wouldn't be gardening in the first place....
As many others have said, there is so much wrong with this article. Not composting certain items because they "may" draw pests is ridiculous! Bury them well, use a secure bin, keep the bin away from the house, etc etc - but to put biodegradable items to mummify in our ever-growing landfills is irresponsible and reprehensible, particularly to me since I live by a landfill. Also, many of the items on the "never" recycle list ARE recyclable! You just need to find out where in your area they.... More
I agree with most of the other comments....I've been composting all of my life, I'm a plant scientist, and teach composting to others. Yes, never hazardous materials! No animal/human feces, animal products unless you use an appropriate system and then compost just for land use, not food. Bread, cakes - not in the compost - What??? Just bury them under other compost. Animals and a variety of insects can be attracted to any of your compost. It is about management of the compost. If.... More
I dislike this article because recycling facility and composting contract is willing to accept some of the items listed in the do not recycle/ compost list. Therefore, people should check with their facilities and this generalized list should be disregarded.
Good point about checking local facilities and their acceptable lists, but in general the blog list is very good.
I also dislike this list. It is very discouraging to a composter and in general is NOT a very good list. Many commercial or municipal composting programs can compost ALL of those items without any problems, and even most of them can be composted by individuals with just a minor amount of effort to control pests.
>>"don't compost bread".... WHAT?????
also, batteries can be recycled so they shouldn't be in the don't recycle list. if the author meant curbside recycling, that should've been mentioned in the title.
So how do compost toilets work? Also, do vegan feces count as non-carnivorous?
A compost toilet is a bucket under a toilet seat. Every time the toilet is used, the deposit is covered with a layer of sawdust or similar absorbent product. When full the bucket is emptied into a compost pile where is is dug into the center of the pile and then covered with a layer of straw. These piles are consistently above 140 degrees in the center, high enough to kill any pathogens. To be extra sure, the pile is left to mature for a several months, up to a year. Neither the toilet,nor.... More
I have a composting toilet & three big compost bins outside, which I rotate. Everything goes into the outside bins, including the contents of the toilet compost bin in the basement. I'm an almost vegan. I try to follow "The Humanure Book" but I'm never sure if the heat is high enough to kill the bad stuff even after two full years, so I use the resulting compost in gardens other than food gardens.
The author of this article needs to realize that Kudzu compost was used to set a world record for fruit and vegetable production. "How To Grow World Record Tomatoes" is a book written by Charles Wilber. Check it out on Amazon. Kudzu is a mineral-rich legume, is high in nitrogen, and is free. Alfalfa or other legumes can be used as a substitute for Kudzu, with excellent results. If Kudzu is used, remove any seedpods and then shred the Kudzu with a chipper/shredder or lawn mower with a grass.... More
I throw away about one paper bag of trash a month. I reuse many things over and over. I compost, Anything that will burn without creating toxic smoke goes into my woodstove, While waiting for the hot water from the shower, I save the cold water in a 5 gallon bucket and use it in the toilet or in the garden. I collect rainwater. I use Maggie Soaonuts and drain my washing machine directly into my garden. I shredd all the garden wastes and use it for mulch and compost. I do not collect.... More
We compost basically all our kitchen waste that is not oil or animal tissue. We choose to do that and deal with the pests rather than throw it all in the trash! I didn't know about walnuts, but honestly don't ever see a reason that any walnuts would make it into the compost anyway!
I guess our composting has gotten a bit better since we got chickens, though. More of items like bread and pasta go to the chickens instead. Then the chicken poop makes a great addition to the.... More
just a note on the walnuts- i think the shells are what would make it into the pile, if one wasn't aware of the effects. a walnut tree growing in a yard will spread the chemical throughout the yard, it's throughout the plant i think. still, would i put walnut shells in a trash can? heck no. i think we've got to get way more creative than this, plus ask ourselves if we should be using or consuming ANYTHING where some part of it has to go into a trash can (glad to see several mentions of reuse,.... More
I swear by Jenkins and his commonsense approach based on decades of experience and research. Most of the supposed "don'ts" disappear when you build continuous piles and just, simply...let them sit until they're ready. Sure, when you're building batch compost for quick results, you can't use our methods. But if you're in it for the long haul, build in layers and Momma Nature will do her thing.
Best wishes,
Mike
The article failes to say that some of the not-recommended items are fine for composting IF you allow your pile to heat up for a couple of days. Dandalions, for example, can be killed if the pile's temperature goes up to 100-110 degrees.
