Recipe for success

For composting to work properly, your bin needs both air and moisture. Air is essential to the composting process and by mixing the material, as you fill your bin, it will create air pockets and help keep your compost healthy.

The key to getting this right lies in getting the mix right - you need to keep your green waste and brown waste properly balanced. If your compost is too wet and gives off an odour, add more browns. If it's too dry and is not rotting, add some greens.

For more information about the materials you can and can't compost please visit the Recycle Now website.

 

Greens

  • Vegetable peelings
  • Salad leaves
  • Grass cuttings
  • Old flowers and dead plants
  • Tea leaves and bags
  • Animal manure with straw (from vegetarian pets)
  • Citrus peel
  • Coffee grounds and filter paper
  • Cut flowers
  • Fruit peelings and pulp
  • Hay
  • Hedge clippings
  • House plants
  • Old bedding plants
  • Soft prunings and plant debris
  • Vegetable peelings

 

Browns

  • Dried leaves, twigs
  • Wood chippings
  • Straw
  • Crushed egg shells
  • Vacuum bag contents
  • Toilet/ kitchen roll tubes
  • Scrunched up paper
  • Shredded paper
  • Autumn leaves
  • Cardboard
  • Cotton wool
  • Egg boxes
  • Hair
  • Natural corks
  • Paper bags
  • Sweetcorn cobs
  • Thorny prunings
  • Wood ash

 

The wrong ingredients