What You Can and Can’t Put in Your Composter
Getting it right matters
Adding the right materials keeps your compost healthy, fast, and odour-free. Adding the wrong ones causes smells, pests, and slow breakdown. Here’s a simple guide.
✅ Greens (nitrogen-rich) — add these
- Vegetable and fruit peels and scraps
- Tea leaves and coffee grounds
- Fresh garden trimmings and grass clippings
- Crushed eggshells
✅ Browns (carbon-rich) — balance with these
- Dry leaves
- Shredded paper and cardboard
- Sawdust and small wood shavings
- Dry coconut husk / cocopeat
❌ Avoid these
- Meat, fish and bones — rot badly, smell, and attract pests.
- Dairy products — cause odour and pests.
- Oily or cooked food — slows composting and smells.
- Diseased plants — can spread disease to your garden.
- Plastic, glass, metal — not compostable at all.
Tips for faster compost
- Chop scraps small — they break down quicker.
- Keep a roughly even mix of greens and browns.
- Turn regularly and keep it lightly moist.
When in doubt
If it grew from the ground and isn’t oily, meaty, or diseased, it can usually go in. Stick to plant-based scraps and dry browns, and your compost will stay clean and rich.
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