other food & kitchen

Beyond produce scraps, the kitchen gets complicated. Coffee grounds and eggshells are famous composting staples; meat, dairy, oils, and cooked leftovers are where home guidance and curbside programs split. Most municipal food-waste programs take everything on this page, while open backyard piles handle only some of it — so many verdicts here hinge on which system you're using. This category also holds the classic surprises: coffee grounds count as a green despite their color, eggshells barely change your pile's chemistry at all, and bread's only real problem is the pests it invites. Check the method table on each page before tossing anything questionable in an open bin.

compost it (14)

Fine in an ordinary pile.

coffee grounds yes eggshells yes coffee filters yes beer yes cereal yes crackers yes expired spices yes leftover coffee yes loose tea leaves yes moldy food yes peanut shells yes popcorn yes sourdough starter yes tortillas yes

compost it, with care (37)

Read the catch first.

bread careful meat careful bones careful cheese careful chicken bones careful pasta careful pizza careful rice careful tea bags careful butter careful candy careful chocolate careful cooked food careful crab shells careful fish careful flour careful honey careful ketchup careful mayonnaise careful milk careful moldy bread careful nuts careful oatmeal careful oyster shells careful peanut butter careful pickles careful pistachio shells careful potato chips careful salad dressing careful shrimp shells careful sugar careful sunflower seed shells careful vinegar careful walnut shells careful whole eggs careful wine careful yogurt careful

keep it out (4)

Every page says what to do instead.

cooking oil no bacon grease no chewing gum no salt no