For a long time I thought egg shells, coffee grinds, apple cores and food scraps, basically un-edible food went into the green bin and that was about it. Wrong! The parameters vary a bit from town to town, but there is a lot more that you can compost. The following is an overview of composting/green bin basics and why it makes sense to compost everything you can!

I'll start in the kitchen. Keeping your compost bin on the counter makes composting easy and compost bins with charcoal filters help eliminate odors and control fruit flies. All food waste, tea bags, coffee grinds, grease, fat, pet food, meat + fish bones, nuts + shells, and other organic matter goes in the kitchen compost bin. I line our kitchen bin with a compost bag, so the scraps transport easily to the green bin. If necessary, wash and dry the compost bin prior to inserting the next bag liner. Remember, if you still use paper table napkins and/or paper towel, they can go in the kitchen compost bin too. 

Pizza boxes (without the greasy paper liner), paper, dryer lint, pet waste (in dedicated compost bags) all go straight into the green bin.

On to the bathroom... All facial tissue, compostable floss (like silk), hair, toilet paper roll, bamboo ear buds go in the compost bag. All Q-tips, regular dental floss, plastic tooth picks, bottle top seals go into the plastic bag, however there are biodegradable alternatives that you can use! And any empty plastic shampoo bottles can be refilled at your local refillery or placed in your recycle bin.

Most, if not all, towns have weekly green bin pick-up. Food that goes into plastic bags ends up in landfill. With no source of oxygen and no ability to break-down, the food stays in the plastic bag in landfill. A little thought goes a long way to shifting garbage habits. The goal is for as much waste as possible to biodegrade, completely break-down and convert into new organic matter. 

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." - Jim Rohn

"If your habits don't line up with your dream, then you need to either change your habits or change your dream" - John Maxwell

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