Composting is the best way to remove scraps from your kitchen without sending it to a landfill. If you’ve been composting for a while, you may have already begun experimenting with composting other items that aren’t normally listed in the list of compostable materials. If you’re new to composting, you may be surprised by some of the items we suggest on this list.
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There are many but Rules for successful compostingAll rules do not apply to all compost boxes. Compost is a wide range of climates and Bons in contact with the ground versus Rolling Bin Compared to the true mountains that feed animals too. Your compost may not be as hot or as airy as your neighbor’s box.
So it’s best to try out the unexpected items on this list and see if they break down into compost piles before adding a lot.
1. Clothing prices
As long as the tag on your new clothing is paper, bills, or cardstock that is not plasticized, send the tag to your compost. These little papers are too small to recycle curbs. In the compost pile, they act like shredded paper (see below) and are brown (carbon-based) additions.
2. Tea, paper wrappers, tags, and possibly bags
Tea bags are full of different small pieces and parts. The tea itself is very compostable, just like paper wrappers with no lining type. There are some inconsistencies around the compostable possibilities of the bag itself, staples and strings connecting the tea bag to the paper tag. If the tea bag is made of cloth (cotton) or filter paper, you’re better off going (and compost).
However, if the bag is made of nylon, there is a low chance of it breaking down. The same goes for your tea bag string. Do your research to find out what your particular tea bag and strings are made of. Most teabags I use don’t have staples to hold strings in tags. They are simply surrounded by heat or sewn. However, if your bag has that classic, you should experiment. I seem to be rusting on my compost pile.
3. Bamboo skewers, wooden chopsticks, toothpicks, match sticks
All of these small, disposable, single-door wooden kitchen tools are compostable. If you lower the surface area by half your chest, you’ll break the matchhead because you can’t believe that phosphorus sulfide will break down or it’s a suitable addition to the soil.
4. Tissue paper
I recently spoke to an education specialist in the county’s solid waste district about tissue paper and was really disappointed to hear that it shouldn’t be sent to a local recycled material recovery facility. She says it is a very low quality paper and that the fibers cannot be reused again. She suggested adding only white tissue paper (no sparkle or sparkle) to the compost box to try and see what happens. In my bottle, the tissue paper has disappeared!
5. Kitchen Single Use Paper Products
You won’t find many articles about Earth911 911 is not intended to encourage the use of disposable paper products, but can be composted if you’re in a pinch. Paper napkins and paper towels can easily become compost when unfolded and tear a little. The same applies to unpainted paper plates and cups. Make sure the plates and cups are torn apart and have no coating at all.
6. I spent the soil in pots
If you are replacing soil in your houseplant or outdoor flower pots, add the soil to your compost bin and add nutrients.
7. Fine paper
The shredded paper probably doesn’t belong to curb bins, as it could possibly entangle the machinery of your local material recovery facility. Many communities shred the days of especially collecting shredded paper for recycling, but I don’t want to wait that long.
The shredded paper can also be recycled with a charity recycled dumpster, but I personally got blown away from the bin and turned into garbage. Instead of recycling shredded paper, I composting it. Talk about safe disposal!
If you’re just starting to composting, please see the composting cheat sheet for the basics.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on October 16th, 2020 and updated in February 2025.
