WHAT’S COMPOSTABLE/WHAT’S NOT A-Z

YES

• Food scraps (veggies, fruit, all meat, dairy, bones)
• Coffee grounds, filters, and teabags
• Soiled paper -pizza boxes, tissues, paper towels, paper cups and plates

NO

• Plastic (styrofoam, bags, plastic-lined items, containers, etc)
• Glass
• Metal, foil-lined items

YES

• Ashes from fireplace or grill (cold, and contained)
• Baked goods
• BPI certified compostable bags (not plastic-based, must have compost council logo)
• BPI certified compostable products (click here for more details)
• Bones
• Boxes from refrigerated & frozen food
• Bread
• Butter & margarine
• Cake
• Candy
• Cellulose sponges
• Certified compostable knives and forks, look for “ASTM D-6400”
• Certified compostable plates, cups, etc look for “ASTM D-6400”
• Cereal
• Cheese
• Christmas/Holiday wreaths and swags
• Coffee filters
• Coffee grounds
• Condiment packets, paper – e.g. sugar, sugar substitutes, salt, etc
• Cookies
• Cooking oils
• Cork
• Corn – cobs and husks
• Cottage cheese
• Cotton balls
• 100% cotton or wool clothing that cannot be repaired or donated
• Cotton swabs
• Dairy products
• Dough (although if we’re talking money you can send it to me care of the LHP&L address)
• Dryer lint
• Dust bunnies
• Egg cartons
• Eggshells
• Fish & fish parts
• Fondue
• French fries
• Frozen foods
• Fruit
• Fruit peelings
• Fur – pet grooming, not coats
• Garlic
• Gift bags (remove sticky tape)
• Gift wrap (remove sticky tape)
• Grain products
• Gravy & sauces
• Hair -human and pet
• Herbs & spices
• Horseradish
• Houseplant & flower trimmings
• Ice cream
• Indoor plants
• Jams and jellies
• Ketchup
• Masking tape (paper type, not sticky tape)
• Mayonnaise
• Meat & meat products
• Melon – including rinds
• Microwave food packaging
• Microwave popcorn bags
• Mustard
• Nail clippings
• Newspaper – if used as a liner for a food waste container or to wrap wet food scraps, otherwise recycle
• Noodles
• Nuts & nutshells
• Oatmeal
• Oysters
• Pancakes
• Paper bags (flour and sugar)
• Paper take-out containers (remove metal handles)
• Paper plates & cups (not plastic lined, certified compostable)
• Paper soiled with food
• Paper towels & napkins
• Pasta
• Pastries and pies
• Peanut butter
• Pencils
• Pencil shavings
• Pickles
• Pineapples and tops
• Pitas
• Pizza
• Pizza boxes
• PLA Natureworks items
• Popcorn
• Popsicle sticks (wooden only)
• Potato chips
• Potatoes
• Potted indoor plants
• Pretzels
• Pumpkins
• Q-tips with cardboard middles
• Relishes
• Rice
• Salad dressing
• Salads
• Sandwiches
• Sauces
• Sauerkraut
• Sawdust
• Seafood
• Shellfish, including shells
• Shrimp, including shells
• Snack foods
• Soup – strain liquids down the drain first.
• Sour cream
• Spices
• Spoiled foods
• Squash
• Stuffing
• Sugar
• Syrup
• Tea
• Teabags
• Tissues & cotton balls
• Tissue paper
• Toast, tortillas, bread
• Tomatoes
• Toothpicks
• Tuna
• Vegetables
• Waxed paper (incl. butter wraps, pastry bags, fast food wraps)
• Wreaths, swags and holiday greenery
• Yogurt (Significant volumes can be rinsed down the drain with dishwater)

NO

• Animal waste
• Baby wipes
• Band-Aids
• Bandages
• Berry containers (plastic)
• Candles
• Candy wrappers, chocolate bar wrappers
• Cat litter
• Ceramics
• Christmas Trees (typically highly chemically treated)
• Cigarette butts
• Cigars
• Cleaning products
• Condiment Packets, plastic – e.g. ketchup, mustard
• Condoms
• Construction materials – cement, concrete
• Construction materials (wood scraps)
• Cosmetics
• Crayons
• Dead animals
• Demolition waste
• Dental floss (it’s made from Teflon or nylon)
• Detergents
• Diapers
• Dog food sacks – look like paper but are plastic-lined
• Dryer sheets
• Feces (human and pet)
• Fertilizers
• Foil and foil-type bags e.g. chocolate-chip bags, candy wrappers
• Gardening waste
• Gauze
• Glass
• Grass clippings
• Gravel
• Gum
• Hygiene products
• Incontinence products
• Juice boxes & other foil-lined containers
• Kitty litter
• Latex
• Leaves
• Liquids (large quantities of non-hazardous, pour down the drain)
• Markers
• Milk & juice cartons (waxed cardboard, and foil-lined) – these should be RECYCLED
• Oils – motor
• Personal feminine hygiene products (e.g. tampons, pads)
• Personal hygiene products (e.g. make-up, shampoo)
• Pesticides
• Pet waste
• Pet waste handling products
• Photos
• Plastic Bags (re-use and recycle)
• Plastic of any kind including plastic wrap, packaging, knives, and forks
• Plastic plates and cutlery
• Plastic bottles, metal, or glass (recycle in usual manner)
• Postcards (recycle with boxboard)
• Q-tips with plastic middles
• Rocks
• Rubber
• Sandwich bags
• Soaps
• Soil
• Star Tribune “oxy degradable” bags – they’re plastic
• Sticky tape
• Styrofoam
• Swiffer dusters, dust mops
• Synthetic clothing
• Tampons
• Wax
• Yard waste

For more information,
visit www.lhpowerandlight.org