Guide to Home Composting

Standard Compost Bin

Standard compost bins allow you to compost a mixture of kitchen and garden waste. You can purchase compost bins from a variety of stores including garden centres, hardware stores or online retailers.

You can compost the following materials in a standard compost bin:

YES:

• Fruit and vegetables
• Shredded cardboard and paper
• Tea leaves
• Coffee grounds
• Cut flowers
• Bedding from pet cages
• Egg shells
• House plants

NO:

• Cooked food
• Raw meat and fish
• Nappies, glass, plastic or metal
• Cat or dog litter
• Coke or coal ash
• Diseased plants

Food Digester (green Cone)

Food digesters (of which one type is Green Cone) break down food waste into a nutrient rich liquid that seeps into the soil in your garden You can put the following in a Green Cone:

YES:

• Fruit and vegetables
• Tea leaves
• Coffee grounds
• Cooked food
• Egg shells
• Raw meat and fish

NO:

• Bedding from pet cages
• Cat or dog litter
• Cut flowers
• Diseased plants
• Feathers
• House plants

Green Johanna

Green Johannas are similar in operation to a standard compost bin but are designed to allow you to compost meat, fish and cooked food as well.

You can compost the following in a Green Johanna:

YES:

• Bedding from pet cages
• Coffee grounds
• Cooked food
• Cut flowers
• Egg shells
• Feathers
• Fruit and vegetables
• Garden waste
• House plants
• Raw meat and fish
• Shredded cardboard and paper
• Tea leaves

NO:

• Cat or dog litter
• Coke or coal ash
• Diseased plants
• Nappies, glass, plastic or metal

Composting with worms

Composting with worms (which is often called vermi-composting) is useful if you want to compost vegetable kitchen waste (excluding meat and fish). You can compost the following in a wormery:

YES:

• Coffee grounds
• Cooked vegetables
• Fruit and vegetables
• Shredded paper and cardboard
• Tea leaves

NO:

• Bedding from pet cages
• Cat or dog litter
• Cut flowers
• Coke or coal ash
• Diseased plants
• Feathers
• House plants
• Nappies, glass, plastic or metal
• Raw meat and fish