The Big Eco Idea

Home composting isn’t just for farmers anymore! The practice is becoming increasingly popular among urban environmentalists who are eager to cut their landfill contributions: from apartment dwellers growing gardens on top of NYC roofing, to folks who participate in their local municipal compost program, to homeowners looking to turn their backyards into a teeny tiny sustainable city farms. Composting is a key component of the eco-friendly puzzle, because it takes waste that’s destined for landfills and turns it into usable, nutrient-rich soil, which is perfect for gardening. Most people focus on kitchen scraps, but that’s just the very tip of the composting iceberg. Did you know you could also include the following?

1. Dryer lint
2.  “Dust bunnies” 
3. The insides of a vacuum bag (just empty the bag into the compost bin) 
4. The contents of your dustpan (just use discretion) 
5. Coffee grounds
6. Coffee filters 
7. Tea bags/loose leaf tea 
8. Soy/rice/almond/etc milk 
9. Nut shells (but not walnut, which may be toxic to plants) 
10. Pumpkin/sunflower/sesame seeds (chop them to ensure they won’t grow) 
11. Avocado pits (chop them up so they won’t sprout
12. Pickles 
13. Stale tortilla chips/potato chips 
14. Stale crackers 
15. Crumbs (bread or other baked goods) 
16. Old breakfast cereal
17. Bran (wheat or oat, etc)
18. Seaweed/nori/kelp 
19. Tofu/tempeh 
20. Frozen fruits and vegetables 
21. Expired jam or jelly 
22. Egg shells 
23. Old, moldy “soy dairy” and other dairy substitutes 
24. Stale Halloween candy and old nutrition/protein bars 
25. Popcorn kernels (post-popping, the ones that didn’t make it) 
26. Old herbs and spices
27. Cooked rice 
28. Cooked Pasta 
29. Oatmeal  
30. Peanut shells 
31. Booze (beer and wine) 
32. Wine corks 
33. Egg cartons (not Styrofoam) 
34. Toothpicks 
35. Q-tips (not the plastic ones) 
36. Bamboo Skewers 
37. Matches 
38. Sawdust 
39. Pencil shavings 
40. Fireplace ash (fully extinguished and cooled)
41. Burlap sacks 
42. Cotton or wool clothes, cut into strips 
43. Paper towels 
44. Paper napkins 
45. Paper table cloths 
46. Paper plates (non wax- or plastic-coated) 
47. Crepe paper streamers 
48. Holiday wreaths 
49. Balloons (latex only) 
50. Raffia fibers (wrapping or decoration) 
51. Excelsior (wood wool) 
52. Old potpourri 
53. Dried flowers 
54. Fresh flowers 
55. Dead houseplants (or their dropped leaves) 
56. Human hair (from a home haircut or saved from the barber shop) 
57. Toenail clippings
58. Trimmings from an electric razor 
59. Pet hair 
60. Domestic bird and bunny droppings 
61. Feathers
62.  Fish food 
63. Aquatic plants (from aquariums) 
64. Dog food 
65. Rawhide dog chews 
66. Ratty old rope 
67. The dead flies on the windowsill 
68. Pizza boxes and cereal boxes (shredded first) 
69.  Toilet paper and paper towel rolls (shredded first) 
70. Paper muffin/cupcake cups 
71. Cellophane bags (real cellophane, not regular clear plastic) 
72. Kleenex (including used) 
73. Condoms (latex only) 
74. Old loofas (real, not synthetic) 
75. Cotton balls 
76. Tampon applicators (cardboard, not plastic) and tampons (including used) 
77. Newspaper 
78. Junk mail 
79. Old business cards (not the glossy ones) 
80. Old masking tape 
81. White glue/plain paste.

(Source: sustainablesex)