What can be composted?

If it can rot it will compost, but some items are best avoided. Some things, like grass mowings and soft young weeds, rot quickly. They work as 'activators' or 'hotter rotters', getting the composting started, but on their own will decay to a smelly mess.

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.

For best results, use a mixture of types of ingredient.
The right balance is something you learn by experience.

Compost ingredients

Hotter rotters (activators)	Other compostable items
Comfrey leaves Young weeds Grass cuttings Chicken manure Pigeon manure	Wood ash Cardboard Paper towels & bags Cardboard tubes Egg boxes
A balanced diet (Basic composting ingredients)
Fruit and vegetable scraps Tea bags Coffee grounds Old flowers Bedding plants Old straw & hay Vegetable plant remains Strawy manures Young hedge clippings Soft prunings Perennial weeds Gerbil, hamster & rabbit bedding
Slow cookers - very slow to rot
Autumn leaves Tough hedge clippings Woody prunings Sawdust Wood shavings
Do NOT compost
Coal & coke ash Cat litter Dog faeces Disposable nappies Glossy magazines Meat Fish Newspaper Cooked food
How to makecompost