City of Napa Composting Dos and Don'ts
Napa Recycling & Waste Services wants you to know that your brown compost cart is not just for yard waste anymore. You can include food and soiled paper products in addition to your yard trimmings. Use this list as a guide to help you understand what you can and cannot put into your brown compost carts.
Thank you to Kendra Bruno and Tim Dewey-Mattia at Napa Recycling for helping us compile this list.
For more information, visit naparecycling.com/residential-food-composting.
Do: All food goes into the compost bin
No matter if it is fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat, bread, grains, spoiled or food scraps (even chocolate), all of it can go into the brown compost cart, says Kendra Bruno.
Food: Shellfish
Make sure to compost the shells, too.
Food: Meat bones
Meat bones can be composted, too.
Food: Eggshells
Don't toss the eggshells. Those can be composted as well.
Food: Pet food
Even leftover scraps (wet and dry) from your dog or cat's food dish can be tossed into the compost bin.
Do: Leaves and grass
Just a reminder, all yard waste can be composted, including leaves and grass.
Do: Natural cork
That wine cork can go into the compost bin as long as it's made with natural cork. Synthetic corks need to go into the trash.
Do: Cotton balls/cotton swaps with paper stems
Careful with this one. Cotton swabs with plastic, colored stems are not compostable.
Do: Holiday greenery
Your trees, wreaths and other holiday greening -- stripped of decorations -- can go in the brown bin.
Do: Clean wood
Sawdust, chopsticks, toothpicks, wooden crates & other clean wood (wood that hasn't been painted or treated) items under 36 inches may go into your compost bin. Make sure there are no nails or screws in the wood though. Metal isn't compostable.
Do: Napkins, paper towels, tissues & other soiled paper
Paper towels are compostable and not recyclable, says Kendra Bruno. "Paper towels are made out of a cheaper paper fiber and cannot be recycled, but they are always compostable! Even if they have cleaning detergent on them, it can go into the compost. Our composting process gets hot enough it kills all the bad bacteria, so no worries of listeria, e.coli, salmonella, etc. All paper based items, even tissues, can be composted."
Do: Coffee grounds & filters
Coffee grounds and filters, as well as tea and tea bags are compostable.
Do: Greasy pizza boxes & paper bags
Pizza boxes are compostable, according to Kendra Bruno. "Once paper is saturated with food and oils, it is no longer recyclable – paper recyclers use water to separate the paper fibers and so water and oil do not mix."
Do: Waxed paper, butcher paper & waxed cardboard
"Cooked up some delicious homemade sweet potato fries and have parchment paper to dispose of?" asks Kendra Bruno. "Throw that into the compost!"
Don't: Plastic bags/wrap, straws or other plastic items
Plastic of any kind cannot be composted, so keep it out of your brown bin.
Don't: Styrofoam
Styrofoam of any kind -- cups, containers, packing materials, etc. -- does not go into the compost bin.
Don't: Glass
Glass can be recycled. This should go in your blue bin.
Don't: Metal
Like glass, metal is also recyclable, so keep it out of the compost bin.
Don't: Aluminum foil/foil-lined food wrap
Aluminum foil goes in the trash -- not the compost bin. However, if the aluminum foil is clean -- meaning no oils or grease, it can go into the recycling bin.
Don't: Cat & dog waste/cat litter
Your pets' waste goes into the trash, along with the litter.
Questions?
Need more information about composting? Contact Napa Recycling & Waste Services at 707-255-5200; naparecycling.com/foodcompostingprogram.
Kendra Bruno, aka Compost Girl, the waste prevention specialist for the city of Napa, writes a monthly column to educate readers about the ben…
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