A compost heaps isn’t just the place at the bottom of a garden where you scrape the leftovers from supper – there’s a whole lot more than unwanted food that can compost.

Take a look below to discover 5 things from your kitchen that you probably didn’t know you could turn into nutrient-rich homemade fertilizer.

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5 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Compost (from My Zero-Waste Kitchen, by Kate Turner)

You might be used to recycling your unwanted cardboard packaging – such as egg and cereal boxes, and toilet and kitchen roll tubes – but did you know that you can rip them up and add them to your compost heap?

Don’t bin that cork once you’ve popped it! Cork is a natural product that can be added to compost. Do watch out for synthetic corks that have been made to look like the real thing though – plastic will not break down in your compost heap.

Don’t pour sour wine or flat beer down the sink, they are great for compost. Both are rich in nitrogen and beer contains yeast for good microbes to feast on. Keep an eye the moisture levels of your compost, if it’s dry then add the liquids but if it’s wet add dry material too, such as shredded paper, to balance it out.

Old crisps, crackers, and biscuits will break down fast in a compost heap, but be sure to bury them deep within the heap as they can attract unwanted visitors to your garden.

Paper cupcake or muffin cases can be added to your compost heap where they will break down quickly. Do watch out for any waxy-feeling cases that may contain an element of plastic, which you shouldn’t compost. If in doubt, leave it out!

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Extract taken from My Zero-Waste Kitchen by Kate Turner. DK, £6.99. DK.com

You can buy a copy of My Zero-Waste Kitchen here. 

 

 

Did you find this post useful? If so, take a look at more posts full of tips on our blog, like 5 Foods You Didn’t Know You Could Freeze and 7 Time Saving Kitchen Hacks. If you know of any other things that people might not know they can compost, let us know about them in the comments!