Compost Dryer Lint And A Host Of Other Stuff

Compost can be made from anything organic although most of us avoid animal waste with the exception of manures. Bones, meat scraps and the like all compost and add lots of nitrogen to the pile in the form of protein, but they also attract vermin such as rodents, raccoons, skunks, dogs and cats. Dogs and cats who scatter the compost and come in the house smelling of rotting hamburger, may for the time being be considered vermin although worse names have been used. You can even compost dryer lint and vacuum cleaner accumulations. Be aware however, that there may be inorganic matter in either one. Many fabrics made of artificial fibers produce lint in the dryer and you may be trying to compost dryer lint that simply will not rot. On the other hand it will not be large enough to hurt the pile and may even add some texture. Vacuum cleaner lint has the same sort of warning, especially with artificial fibers in our carpets.

Some things you may not have thought to compost are:

paper products such as paper towel and napkins. These are considered brown matter and need plenty of green.
Coffee filters and spent grounds tend to be a great balance of green and brown matter.
Pet hair
Office paper like envelopes, unpaid bills and post-it notes. These are "very" brown though and in any quantity should likely be recycled another way.
Wood chips and shavings, especially from a friendly wood turner who is turning wet poplar and birch. These rot very quickly on their own and are almost a "hot" brown for the pile.
Old spices from the cupboard and all the rest of that dated food you hate to toss but are afraid to eat.
Pine needles although they have a resinous coating that slows the process. However they are weed free and I like to pile them and take compost from the bottom of the pile after three years and each year thereafter. It will likely be acid and favored by rhododendrons and their kin.
Leaves compost better when smaller so run over them with the mower (use a bag) first.
Matches, toothpicks, bamboo skewers and the like
Seaweed especially if you live on the shore.
Grass clippings are great green material. I would not use a bag on the mower unless I had a huge pile of brown matter that needed ltos of green for a good pile but there are sections that simply seem to get ahead of the rest of the lawn and need to be raked. If your neighbors bag and toss their clippings they are fair game but make sure they have not used pesticides and or herbicides in the last couple of weeks.
Weeds if they have not gone to seed or even then if you use a hot pile.
Hair clippings
wood ashes for potassium
Egg shells
Aquarium water. Every compst pile needs moisture and the water from cleaning the aquarium will have lots of fish wast in it for added growth.
Fingernail clippings rank with hair for a great protein source.
The left overs from house and garden plants like moss and spent potting soil.

One question that is often raised is adding pet manure like the stuff from the cat box. This may contain pathogens that will not be destroyed in the composting process and are best disposed of in another fashion. Generally if it came from a plant, compost it even if you are going to compost dryer lint.

By: Darrell Feltmate

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An avid gardener for over 25 years, Darrell Feltmate brings to Compost Central a wealth of knowledge of making compost for the best garden ever. He has had compost piles over 25 feet long and others in neat bins. Some piles have finished in as little as two weeks. Over the years many shavings from his wood turning have been compost for the garden.