What Not to Compost or Recycle: Essential Guide for Eco-Conscious Living
Keep your compost and recycling safe, clean, and eco-friendly by avoiding these common contaminants.
If you’re committed to living more sustainably, composting and recycling are two key actions for reducing household waste. However, not everything belongs in your compost bin—or your recycling bin. Putting the wrong items in either can lead to contamination, increased landfill waste, and even potential harm to gardens or recycling workers. In this guide, we’ll break down everything you should never compost or recycle, explain why these items are problematic, and offer responsible alternatives for disposal.
Why Think Twice Before Composting or Recycling Certain Items?
Composting and recycling work only when correct materials are used. Introducing the wrong waste can:
- Contaminate valuable batches of compost, spreading diseases or chemicals to your garden.
- Destroy loads of recyclable material, sending them straight to landfill.
- Cause safety risks to workers or foster the growth of pests.
- Reduce the effectiveness and environmental benefits of both processes.
Common Items You Should Never Compost
Let’s examine some of the most common items that people mistakenly put in their compost piles, why they should be avoided, and safer disposal methods.
Meat, Dairy, and Fish
- Why Not: Animal products like meat, dairy, and fish attract pests (rats, raccoons, flies) and create foul odors. They also break down anaerobically, producing harmful bacteria before the composting microbes can do their work.
- Better Option: Seal these in your trash or seek out municipal composting programs equipped for animal-based waste if available.
Oils and Grease
- Why Not: Oils (including cooking oils and fats) coat organic material, suffocating compost microbes and slowing decomposition. Grease can also create waterproof barriers, leading to foul odors.
- Better Option: Allow small quantities to solidify, then dispose of them in regular trash; many communities have drop-off sites for large amounts of oil.
Disease-Ridden and Pest-Infested Plants
- Why Not: Diseased plants and those infested with pests can introduce pathogens or eggs that survive the composting process, spreading infection to healthy garden soil later on.
- Better Option: Dispose of these in landfill-bound garbage or follow local guidelines for incineration if available.
Weeds Gone to Seed
- Why Not: Mature, seeding weeds can survive the moderate temperatures of most home compost piles and sprout later, spreading unwanted plants throughout your garden.
- Better Option: Place them in green waste bins (if hot-composted by your municipality), or landfill if no alternative exists.
Synthetic Materials and Non-Biodegradable Waste
- Examples: Plastics, metals, glass, synthetic fabrics, and coated or glossy papers.
- Why Not: These materials do not decompose, contaminate compost, and may include harmful chemicals.
- Better Option: Recycle these items if accepted; otherwise, dispose of them as non-recyclable trash.
Certain Types of Paper
- Examples: Glossy, colored, or treated papers such as magazines, receipts, and some cardboard boxes with colored inks or plastic coatings.
- Why Not: These papers may contain toxic inks or plasticizers that won’t break down and risk introducing toxins to your soil.
- Better Option: Recycle only plain, untreated paper; put coated or glossy material in the trash if recycling is unavailable.
What others are reading
Pet Waste from Meat-Eating Animals
- Why Not: Feces from cats and dogs can contain pathogens (including roundworms and parasites) not killed in home compost piles, contaminating finished compost and posing health risks.
- Better Option: Bag and dispose in general trash, unless you use a dedicated pet-waste composting bin designed for this purpose—not for vegetable gardens.
Grass Clippings Treated with Herbicide or Pesticides
- Why Not: Clippings from chemically treated lawns can carry toxins to your compost, harming beneficial microbes and potentially poisoning future plants grown in compost-amended soil.
- Better Option: Only use untreated, organic clippings for compost.
Large Amounts of Citrus Peels
- Why Not: Citrus peels are acidic and can upset the balance of your compost pile if used in excess. They also decompose very slowly.
- Better Option: Add limited amounts and chop finely, or use municipal composting services that process food scraps industrially.
Walnut Shells and Black Walnut Debris
- Why Not: Black walnuts and their shells contain juglone, a chemical toxic to many plants including tomatoes and potatoes. Composting these can spread juglone through your garden.
- Better Option: Dispose in yard-waste bins collected by your municipality, or as trash if no other option.
Certain Types of Eggshells
- Why Not: Unrinsed eggshells can attract pests and spread odors; cleaned, crushed shells are safe in moderation.
Produce Stickers
- Why Not: Those tiny stickers found on fruits and vegetables are made of plastic, not paper, and won’t decompose. They also gum up composting equipment and may wind up polluting soil.
- Better Option: Always remove produce stickers before composting and place them in the trash.
Common Items You Should Never Recycle
Just like composting, recycling works best when only accepted materials are processed. Some items that seem recyclable often do more harm than good.
- Plastic bags and wraps: These clog recycling machinery and should instead be returned to grocery store drop-offs where accepted.
- Greasy pizza boxes: Once cardboard is saturated with oil or food waste, it can’t be recycled. Compost the clean, unsoiled parts if possible.
- Single-use disposable cups: Most are lined with polyethylene, which is not accepted by standard recycling programs.
- Ceramics and broken glass: These have different melting points than typical recyclables and will spoil batches.
- Foam containers: Also known as polystyrene or Styrofoam, these are rarely recyclable at curbside.
- Batteries, electronics, and light bulbs: These pose fire and health risks—find special e-waste or hazardous waste collection events.
Table: Items Not to Compost vs. Not to Recycle
| Item | Do Not Compost | Do Not Recycle |
|---|---|---|
| Meat, dairy, fish | ✔ | |
| Oils, grease | ✔ | |
| Disease/pest plants | ✔ | |
| Plastic bags/wraps | ✔ | |
| Ceramics, glass | ✔ | |
| Synthetic fabrics | ✔ | |
| Glossy papers/magazines | ✔ | ✔ (if coated) |
| Greasy pizza boxes | ✔ |
Items That Should Be Disposed of With Extra Caution
- Batteries and electronics: Full of toxins; bring to hazardous or e-waste collection sites.
- Medications: Never flush or compost; use drug take-back programs.
- Paint, solvents, and chemicals: Always use designated disposal sites or hazardous waste collection days.
Extra Tips for Safe, Effective Composting and Recycling
- Remove all tape, labels, and stickers from cardboard before composting or recycling.
- Cut or shred materials into small pieces for quicker breakdown and easier processing.
- Check your local composting and recycling rules, as municipal programs vary widely.
- When in doubt, don’t toss it out—research your city’s accepted items first.
- Practice “reduce and reuse” before recycling or composting to minimize waste overall.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why shouldn’t you compost meat or dairy?
Meat, dairy, and fish attract pests and cause odor due to anaerobic decomposition. They may also introduce harmful bacteria not eliminated in typical home compost piles.
Can you compost biodegradable plastics?
Most so-called “biodegradable” plastics don’t break down in regular compost piles—they require industrial conditions. Always check packaging and local compost guidelines.
What’s wrong with composting pet waste?
Pet waste from carnivorous animals can introduce dangerous pathogens into your compost, making it unsafe for use on plants—especially edibles.
Are all paper products safe to compost?
No. Only plain, ink-free paper and cardboard are generally safe. Glossy, colored, or coated paper may contain toxic chemicals and shouldn’t be composted.
Why can’t all plastics be recycled?
Many plastics are multi-layer, contaminated, or not accepted by local recycling programs. Only recycles #1 and #2 plastics are widely accepted at most facilities.
How should you dispose of things that can’t be composted or recycled?
Check for specialized services (hazardous waste, municipal bulk pick-up) or as a last resort, use the landfill. Minimize such waste by choosing alternate, eco-friendly products when possible.
References
- https://www.homesandgardens.com/gardens/things-to-never-add-to-your-compost-bin
- https://www.earth-smart-solutions.com/blogs/blog/composting-cautiously-what-not-to-add-to-your-compost-pile-and-why
- https://mntreehugger.com/reduce-reuse-recycle/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ExpHO7UqsA
- https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home
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