COMPOST THIS!

Anything that has recently been living or is the product of something recently living is compostable!

All food scraps (remove stickers from peelings!)
Even meat, bones, grease, oils and dairy products* – only small amounts of oils and grease are accepted at the Community Compost Drop-off due to making the bins hard to clean. Please mix them with more solid compostables.
Ashes from the fireplace, grill or fire pit: wood ash (no charcoal ash)
Bamboo skewers
Cardboard (tear them into smaller pieces first)
Cereal boxes (tear them into smaller pieces first)
Coffee grounds and filters
Compostable plastics including bags, utensils and drinking cups, must be BPI certified compostable **
Cotton balls, cotton swabs (with cardboard sticks)
Crepe paper streamers
Crumbs from the counter and floors
Dead houseplants and their soil
Droppings and bedding from rabbit/gerbil/hamsters*
Dryer lint
Eggshells
Feathers
Flowers
Fur from the dog or cat (if not treated with insecticides)
Hair
Leaves trimmed from houseplants
Masking tape
Melted ice cream
Moldy cheese
Nail clippings
Natural fiber string and rope
Natural holiday wreaths, garlands*
Natural potpourri
Newspapers (shredded or torn into small pieces)
Newspaper and droppings from the bottom of bird cages
Nuts and shells
Old condiments from the fridge
Old herbs and spices
Old loofahs and natural sponges
Paper bags, either ripped or balled up
Paper cupcake or muffin liners
Paper egg cartons
Paper labels from jars and cans
Paper napkins, paper towels
Paper tablecloths (tear them into smaller pieces first)
Paper towel rolls, ripped up
Parchment paper*
Pencil shavings
Pet food and treats
Pizza boxes, ripped into smaller pieces
Popsicle sticks*
Raffia
Rawhide dog chews (abandoned)
Shredded paper, paper scraps
Soap slivers
Sticky notes
Tea bags (if not synthetic)
Tissues
Toilet paper rolls
Toothpicks
Unpopped popcorn
Used paper plates if not plastic lined as indicated by a slick, shiny surface
Waxed paper*
Wheat, pine or other plant-based cat litter*- Pet wastes are NOT ACCEPTED at the Community Compost Drop-off
Wine corks (natural cork, not plastic)
Wooden coffee stirrers*
Wooden disposable chop sticks*

*These materials are most successfully composted in an industrial composting facility like Black Bear Composting. The high heat required to safely and/or completely break them down cannot be achieved through backyard composting.

**BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) certification for plastic compostables is essential because ” … not all plastics made from plants or marked as biodegradable reliably decompose during the composting process.” – Black Bear Composting

Most fully compostable plant-based plastics will have the symbol at right somewhere on them. Other acceptable symbols indicating complete compostability in a commercial facility include those below, as well as “ASTM D6400.”

compostablesymbols

Please note the #7 recyclable symbol must have “PLA” under it and NOT “other.”

For food items that are still edible but unwanted, consider donating them to a homeless shelter. If they are no longer suitable for human consumption, consider using as animal food. If that is not feasible, composting is a better option to landfilling or sending to a waste-to-energy facility, in terms of positive environmental impact. (see graphic below)

Clean paper products are best recycled if they cannot be reused. Once soiled or not recyclable, composting is a great option.

What NOT to Compost

plastic lined paper products (like almost all paper cups, paper milk cartons, frozen food containers, paper plates with a shiny surface, paper from sugar packets, microwave popcorn bags, and many raisin boxes)
rubber and latex items including chewing gum
treated wood
string and twine
cash register (thermal) receipts, due to their BPA content they should not go into the paper recycle stream or be composted. BPA-free receipt paper is available and acceptable for paper recycling or composting.
herbicide treated plants and manures from animals fed these plants
baby wipes
dryer sheets
fabrics of any kind, including burlap. Although many contain natural fibers they are often treated with chemicals that prevent decomposition.
Although fine to compost at home, the Community Compost Drop-off program can not accommodate yard wastes due to its limited capacity. These can be brought to Harrisonburg’s Recycling Convenience Center to be used as part of daily cover of the landfill along with crushed glass.
Pet wastes are compostable but not accepted at the Community Compost Drop-off bins.
Compostable baby diapers are also not accepted at the Community Compost Drop-off bins but can be composted at Black Bear Composting by subscribing to their curbside pickup service.