So we know a few tips about reducing waste, since everyone wants to be more sustainable. In this modern world where pollution is a huge part of our lives, there are one set of people that genuinely want to keep the environment healthy. This is the way they give back to the earth.
We know the usual composting items such as leaves, mulch, teabags, newspaper, and so many other items that we all compost.
Not every item on the list is for everyone, and that’s fine. Imagine how much trash we could prevent from going into the landfills if each of us just decided to compost a few more things.
This article is shared to make people aware of some unusual items that can be composted. Let me first list something we all deal with as humans.
Human Hair
Modern studies have shown that waste human hair from hair salons can be composted. So can the hair that gets stuck in our hair brushes. Human hair contains high levels of nitrogen, making them ‘greens’ when composting.
Hair has oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and sulfur making it an ideal composting material. Generally hair take about 2 years to decay, which is fine.
Fish Bones and Meat Bones
Bones are an excellent natural source of phosphorus, calcium and nitrogen that can be composted minus the meats on them.
While Bone meal is made from grinding the bones for homesteaders this can just be buried and forgotten as we let nature take its course and let it get composted to the ground. Usually, beef bones become porous and decay making it an ideal compost natural nutrient to the soil that helps to produce nutrient dense crops.
In addition, bones from fish and meat will not harm the soil in any way, and will only add more good minerals into the soil.
Related:Â The Ultimate Guide To Composting
Wooden Furniture
At some point in our lives we find the need to get rid of wooden furniture. Some furniture that is all wood, tends to be much easier to add as a composting material instead of paying large amounts to have it hauled away.
It is best if these can be cut or chopped into pieces anything non-perishable such as locks and other types of metallic items should be removed and only the wood buried and left to decay and compost in the soil. With different weather elements taking effect, the old furniture will decay and become part of the soil.
Stale Dry Pet Food
Most of us have pet food at home whether it is dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, or any other pets.
From personal experience, there have been times when I have bought dry pet food and had to trash it as the dogs won’t touch it. Then there are times when the animals are fed and they have had enough. By morning the food is stale.
Again, burying this and adding earth or compost, makes a good composting material as whatever nutrients that are available will perish in the soil. Add water and the process speeds up and you have ready compost that is natural.
Dryer Lint Gunk
There are the days when you have to clean the dryer and find that it is loaded with that thick grey gunk. Specially having pets in the house, fur tends to get trapped in the dryer and even in the AC.
It’s only when you have to clean that, you end up having a sizable amount of grey gunk sometimes enough to make another pet!
Instead of worrying about all that stuff and adding it into the garbage bin, the simple thing is to compost this as it perishes quickly.
Related:Â Boost Your Soil Quality With This Compost
Vacuum Cleaner Dust
Emptying the vacuum cleaner dust collector is sometimes sort of a treasure chest. You find coins, jewelry, pins, needles, buttons and so many other stuff that you have vacuumed.
The major stuff however is the dust in the bag that gets collected. Emptying it into a biodegradable plastic bag and composting it is the perfect solution, as those fine particles are ideal to add to the composting bin, or in an open area in the ground. Make sure you take out any non-perishable little things that cannot be composted.
Trapped Bathroom Stuff
You can compost lots of things that end up in the bathroom bin.
If you use bamboo toothbrushes, just snap off the head or pull out the bristles and compost the handle. When the toilet paper roll is over you can compost the cardboard role.
Similarly, used tissues, pieces of bio soap, also water based creams. Of course, be mindful to do this minus the bottles. We all know that plastic has destroyed the earth as plastic takes years to decay, and you don’t want that in your land. Again another place that hair gets trapped is in the sink and waste outlet. These can be added to composting.
This is a yucky one but anything is better than having a landfill.
While researching on this topic I came across this and I quote: “Urine is incredibly beneficial for the compost because it’s full of nitrogen. It also adds moisture and helps speed up the process. You also skip the compost and add it straight onto your garden, just be sure to dilute it with water at a ratio of 20:1. Reducing your waste is quite simple.”
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If you have kibble that the dogs or cats won’t eat, I can pretty much guarantee that chickens and ducks will chow it down. Don’t put perfectly good food into the compost bins!
Also, while dryer lint appears to be a good idea, don’t use it if your clothes have any synthetic components, which will wind up in the lint trap.
It depends on whether people do have ducks and chickens 😅 Composting is a personal choice not to be done at Gun point . Either you do it either you don’t. Just take what you want and don’t take take what you don’t want. Simple as that
I’m a bit confused. If you can’t put meat in the compost bin how is it ok to put dry kibble in it ? It’s still meat byproduct which is rehydrated once moisture hits it.
Meat gets rotten and stinks kibble has been treated so there is a big difference when composting not that the stale kibble turns into fresh meat . Seriously 🤣
Some people come up with absurd comments. Honestly if you don’t want to do a particular DIY just don’t. Period!
Maybe someone might say that this is perfectly good food for human consumption . I enjoyed the article. Some things I can do but some I choose not to. Really unusual stuff. Good to know. this information Thanks.
I am happy to learn a lot from this article. Very interesting.