Anything that was once living will compost, but some items are better than others. For best results, use a mixture of ingredients and equal amounts by volume of 'green' and 'brown' items.

Compost bin at Ryton gardens — For best results add equal amounts of 'green' and 'brown' items to your compost bin

Anything that was once living will compost, but some items are best avoided.

For best results, use a mixture of ingredients. The right balance is something you learn by experience, but a rough guide is to use equal amounts by volume of greens and browns (see below).

Meat, dairy and cooked food can attract vermin and should not be home-composted unless you have a sealed hot composting system.

Some things, like grass mowings and soft young weeds (both classed as a 'green) rot quickly. On their own they will decay to a smelly mess but mixed with 'browns' they work as activators to get the composting started.

Older and tougher plant material is slower to rot but gives body to the finished compost - and usually makes up the bulk of a compost heap. Woody items decay very slowly; they are best chopped or shredded first, where appropriate.

Items you can add to your compost bin

'Greens' (nitrogen-rich ingredients)	'Browns' (carbon-rich ingredients)
Grass cuttings	Cardboard eg cereal packets, toilet roll tubes and egg boxes
Young weeds	Waste paper and junk mail
Nettles (not roots)	Paper towels & bags
Comfrey leaves	Bedding (hay, straw, shredded paper, wood shavings) from vegetarian pets eg rabbits and guinea pigs
Urine (ideally diluted 20:1)	Tough hedge clippings
Uncooked fruit and vegetable peelings	Woody prunings
Tea leaves and coffee grounds	Old bedding plants
Soft green prunings	Straw
Animal manure from herbivores eg cows and horses
Poultry manure

Other compostable items

Wood ash, in moderation
Hair, nail clippings
Egg shells
Natural fibres, e.g. wool and cotton

Do NOT compost

Meat, fish, dairy products or cooked food, unless you have a sealed hot composting system
Coal & coke ash
Cat litter
Dog faeces
Disposable nappies

There are many different compost systems you can use, choosing the right one for the items you have to hand the most is the best way to get the most out of your composting. Read our handy guide here.

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