Christmas Leftovers You Can Compost

Around Christmas time, it seems like we are constantly doing trash runs. The garbage fills up fast, and it can feel overwhelming to keep up with it all. But here’s the good news: with a little organization and teamwork at home, you can turn some of that holiday waste into a gift for your garden.

By feeding your compost bin with quality leftovers, you’re recycling valuable nutrients instead of throwing them away. So, as you work through the holiday chaos, here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to composting your Christmas leftovers.

 

1. Vegetable & Fruit Scraps

Holiday cooking creates plenty of vegetable and fruit waste that can go straight into your compost bin. Think potato and carrot peels from Christmas dinner prep, apple cores from baking pies, citrus rinds from making mulled drinks, or leftover stems from Brussels sprouts or broccoli casseroles.

2. Eggshells

Eggshells are another common holiday leftover, especially after breakfast casseroles, dessert baking, and brunch dishes, and they often come in abundance when cooking for a full house. For the compost bin, crush them finely before adding them to help them break down faster and release calcium into the soil.

3. Coffee Grounds & Filters

During the holidays, coffee flows in abundance, and so does the leftover coffee grounds. Save those coffee grounds and paper filters for your compost bin, they’re a great source of nitrogen and help feed beneficial microbes and worms in your compost.

4. Tea Bags & Loose Tea Leaves

Tea is another popular drink during the holidays, and when made in batches, the used leaves can be a great addition to your compost bin. Loose tea leaves can be added directly to your pile, and many tea bags are compostable as well, just be sure to check that the bags don’t contain plastic.

5. Cooked Vegetables (Without Fats or Oils)

Plain cooked vegetables, like mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, or leftover peas, are perfectly safe to compost, as long as they’re free from butter, oils, or meat drippings. These residues aren’t always obvious, so be sure to keep a close eye when adding cooked vegetables to your compost.

6. Real Christmas Tree Needles

We all know that natural Christmas trees shed needles like crazy. As you sweep them up, remove the needles and add them to your compost bin. While they take longer to break down, their texture helps aerate the compost and reduce compaction, making your pile healthier and more efficient.

7. Christmas Tree Branches (Chipped or Cut Small)

Branches from the Christmas tree can also be composted after the holidays, but be sure to trim or chip them into smaller pieces first. You can add these branches to the compost bin, but if the pieces are too long or don’t break down well, they can also be used as filler at the bottom of raised garden beds.

8. Cardboard Packaging & Paper Bags

Holiday cardboard, such as packaging from gifts or grocery paper bags, can be torn into strips and composted. Just make sure there’s no glitter, tape, stickers, or plastic pieces attached. Some glossy or coated papers can’t be composted, so keep that in mind when sorting your holiday waste.

Final thoughts

While we focus on adding compost from kitchen scraps to the bin, it’s possible for the pile to become overloaded with “green” materials and not enough “browns.” To keep everything balanced, don’t forget to mix in those leftover Christmas tree needles, small branches, or shredded cardboard, just be sure to break them into small pieces.