What should I put in compost bins?

What should I put in compost bins?

Anything organic, i.e. anything that was once living, whether animal or vegetable, can be composted but some materials are more appropriate than others for home composting.

Organic material falls into two categories: Green and Brown
Green or  “nitrogen rich” organic material is wet and often green like grass clippings or fruit and vegetables. 
Brown or “carbon rich” organic material is dry, woody material that is usually brown, such as fallen leaves and tree-cuttings.
The following list of materials can be composted at home. It has been separated into “Green” and “Brown” for simple identification.

Green

Brown

Coffee grounds Tea leaves and tea bags Fruit and vegetable waste (cooked or uncooked) - roots, cores, etc Bread, pasta & rice Cut and dead flowers Manure from any vegetarian pets (Good Activator) # Grass cuttings and green leaves (Good Activator) # Weeds (Avoid weed seeds) Old plants (Not diseased) Seaweed or garden-pond cleanings (Good Activator)#   # Activators are the primary food of the organisms and help to establish the bin or speed up the process.

Egg shells Kitchen paper Newspapers * Papers and light cardboard, e.g. cereal or shoe boxes (crumpled) * Pet hairs and human hairs Wood/peat/peat ashes (no coal ashes) Tree prunings and woody material (chopped ) Hay and straw Sawdust or wood shaving * Newspapers, cardboard and paper can be added in small crumpled amounts but it is better to recycle them if you can.