Five things you must never put in your compost pile

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Five things you must never put in your compost pile

Composting is one amazing way to ensure a sustainable planet, and this does not require the presence of a garden in your home. The process of composting has abearing upon the nourishment of the soil; it is essentially a way we give back the nutrients we take from the soil and help the environment grow positively.There are different ways in which you can do composting, but do you know what you should not do in composting. To be very precise, there are certain things which you must never put into a compost pile, and we have, in this article, enumerated five such things.

Five things you must never put in your compost pile Image Credit: Paula 

1. Coffee and tea bags

Tea leaves and coffee grounds certainly belong there in a compost since they offer huge amounts of phosphorous, potassium and nitrogen which are essential elements to plants. But, coffee and tea bags are not as generous as the grounds and leaves, and if they are added to compost, they would not do any good. Remove grounds and leaves from bags and then add them to compost, but never with a bag!

The reason for not allowing the bags is the fact that they comprise synthetic fibres that do not easily disintegrate in the piles and contain chemicals which may pose danger to the soil.

2. Coal Fire Ash

The ash from charcoal-briquet or coal fires must not be added to the compost pile since it comprises enough sulphur to convert the soil acidic. Moreover, many charcoal-briquets are given treatment with chemicals, and hence, you would really not want to include them in the pile.

Wood fire ash recovered from the fireplace may be added moderately, but make sure coal fire ash goes directly into the dustbin.

3. Synthetic fertilizer

Synthetic fertilizers result in the introduction of high levels of dangerous inorganic substances in the ecosystem. The nutrients these fertilizers provide usually kill essentialmicro-organisms engaged in the replenishment of the soil, and this will ultimately have a bearing upon the health of your garden.

Synthetic fertilizers include compounds like heavy metals that leach into the soil and affect the water table, and the natural outcome of this is anatural imbalance. Thus, it is highly recommended that you only make use of organic fertilizers which contribute to the preservation of the natural balance.

4. Labels on Vegetables and Fruits

The days are gone when we would grow up vegetables and fruits in our garden; time has come when everything comes from thesupermarket, and we are left with vegetables and fruits with price tags and labels pasted on their surfaces. These vegetables and fruits can be added to compost, but not along with the tags and labels. These tags and labels are composed of vinyl or food-grade plastic and are not biodegradable. These labels are presently the biggest cause of compost contamination, and therefore, it is advised to avoid throwing them into the pile.

5. Cat and Dog Poop

You may think that since chicken, cow and rabbit droppings are good in composting, and so should dog and cat poop be. Well, no, they are not!

It is recommended that droppings of cat and dogs should not be added to compost since they contain parasites and micro-organisms that will surely have an impact on the crops you may eventually end up eating.