The Naughty and Nice List for Composting

All I want for Christmas is a well-balanced compost pile. We all know that fruit and veggie scraps from meal prep are great to add to your compost pile. Read on to find out if your favorite holiday items are on the composting naughty or nice list.

Naughty

• Goose. Does anyone actually serve Christmas goose? (Yuck.) No meat or bones should ever be put into your backyard compost.
• Eggnog. Drink it all up because dairy does not belong in your compost pile.
• Candy canes. Too much sugar is a bad thing. For you and your compost. Some candy can be composted but I would recommend burying in the pile and removing wrappers, of course.
• Gingerbread houses. See above.
• Figgy pudding – Don’t bring it right here.
• Wrapping Paper. If the paper is sparkly, shiny, or otherwise embellished, leave it out of your compost bin.  Simple, old-fashioned, wrapping paper is fine for your compost bin or your recycling cart.

Nice

• Chestnuts. Whether roasted on an open fire or not, nuts can be composted.
• Carrots. Shame on Rudolph for not finishing his snack! That uneaten portion of a carrot can go in your compost bin.
• Popcorn. You can pop any popcorn leftover from tree trimming into your compost bin.
• Cookies. If Santa doesn't eat all of the goodies left for him on Christmas Eve, you can compost cookies too.
• Sugar plums. Let them dance their way into your compost pile as long as they are more plum than sugar. Some sugar added to your compost pile will increase the population of helpful bacteria and speed up decomposition.
• Mistletoe. After the kissing has commenced, mistletoe adds nitrogen to your compost pile.

Unless you plan on renting a chipper/ shredder from your local hardware store, Christmas trees will take way too long to decompose in your backyard. Bring them to one of our free yard trimmings drop off sites on Saturday, January 3 or Saturday, January 10. Find details on our website and be sure to watch this video on the Life Cycle of a Christmas Tree. 

So happy holidays, my composting friends! I hope your season is full of nitrogen and carbon and there is a shiny new pitchfork under the tree!