The most important part of composting is what goes into it.
Compost is comprised of different “green” and “brown” materials that make up the perfect mix for decomposition, or the breakdown of the compost.
In this post, we’ll discuss all about green Material, and provide a list of examples.
What is Green Material?
Green materials are nitrogen-rich materials that go into your compost, like coffee grounds and veggie scraps.
What Do Green Materials Do?
Nitrogen is an important element in amino acids and proteins, and is a vital protein source for the compost microbes.
Microbes are doing a lot of work to breakdown the compost, and nitrogen gives them the fuel to do it!
Without green materials, the microbes would become sluggish and overwhelmed with work, so the compost would take a very long time to breakdown.
Types of Green Material
Here is the list of green items that can be composted at the Broomfield Crescent Grange compost area for our very own Compost Club through Sustainable Broomfield. (Interested in the Compost Club? Email sustainablebroomfield@gmail.com to learn more!)
Green Materials:
- Fruit Scraps (cut up)
- Veggie Scraps (cut up)
- Tea Bags (no staples)
- Coffee Grounds & Filters
- Green Grass (untreated)
- Green Garden Waste
- Bread (no fatty spreads)
- Pasta (no heavy sauces)
- Waste from Herbivores
- Avocado pits (chopped)
- Melon rinds (cut up)
- Weeds, not gone to seed
Most backyard compost setups can accommodate these types of green materials.
Click DOWNLOAD to download a free, pdf copy of this green material list!
Once you know what goes into compost, it is easy to get started! The less food waste in landfills, the fewer greenhouse gases in our environment, so the more we compost, the more we help the environment.
Don’t forget to check out our Resources page for more composting tips!