What Should I Feed My Compost?

You know the saying: Compost happens. That’s true, in a sense; grass clippings, kitchen waste, chicken litter, leaves, and even paper tossed together will decompose into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. But compost is also a living bioenvironment that requires some ground rules.

We asked our compost guru, Senior Horticulturist Andrew Miano, about what you shouldn’t – and should – put in your compost.

What SHOULDN’T I Compost?

• Bioplastics and cardboard products. While many new bioplastics are marketed as biodegradable, “they can require an industrial-style facility to biodegrade them properly,” Andrew said. “Your home compost system won’t do it.” Likewise, he says, even cardboard products that claim to be printed with plant-based inks may contain ‘forever chemicals’ that could linger in the compost and be inadvertently spread to your garden plot and raised beds and harm the beneficial microbes in your soil. He recommends recycling these products instead.