Bathroom Trash You Should Be Composting
Most people do not automatically think of the bathroom when looking for things that can be composted. However, the bathroom is a great place to find things to compost that you may be missing and throwing in the garbage instead.
While you should be more careful when composting bathroom waste, there is no reason you can not do so safely to help your compost turn itself into nutrient-rich soil for your garden.
Can Bathroom Waste Be Composted?
There is indeed less bathroom waste in the bathroom than in the kitchen, but your bathroom still contains several great ways to compost. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Paper Towels
Like kitchen trash you can compost, clean paper towels you use in the bathroom can be composted as well. As always, be sure any bathroom paper you add to your compost pile does not have any added chemicals, such as cleaning products.
This also applies to toilet paper, however, do not compost toilet paper that has solid human waste on it. This is unsafe to do due to the bacteria contained in the waste.
Can You Compost Human Urine?
For some, the idea of composting human urine will be way over the threshold of what they are willing to do. For others, it will be a perfectly acceptable use of an otherwise useless product.
The quick answer is that yes, human urine can be composted and, in some cases, is highly recommended. In fact, composting toilets that separate solid and liquid human waste are becoming more popular by the day.
It may, however, require special handling since it is a human by-product. Urine is high in nitrogen which makes a great addition to your soil.
In short, if you are perfectly okay with the thought of using human urine in your compost, it can be worth the research needed to do so.
Bamboo Bath Products
Bamboo bath products such as bamboo toothbrushes, makeup remover wipes, and so on are becoming more popular as people live more simply and frugally.
While these products are typically more expensive out of pocket, you can stretch what you get from them by giving them one last use in your compost pile.
However, as these products are commercially made, you must be sure there are no added chemicals or unnatural parts to them before composting.
Toothbrushes must have natural bristles, and any other products such as makeup removing wipes should be made from natural fabrics such as 100% cotton.
Natural Cotton Swabs
Like bamboo products, natural cotton swabs can be added to your compost pile as well. Making sure they are chemical-free applies here also.
You will also want to ensure that the stick portion of the cotton swab is wood fiber or another natural material.
Plastic will not decompose in your compost and instead risks adding chemicals and toxins to your soil.
Cotton Balls
If you use cotton balls in your bathroom, keep them from the trash and instead add them to your compost pile. Cotton balls are a brown compost material and, as such, make a great addition.
Only add cotton balls if they are made from 100% natural products.
Your Hair
If you have long hair, you are likely familiar with losing hair when you wash or brush it. As odd as it may seem to some, this hair can be composted.
Like with human urine, if this is over your limit of what you are comfortable with. If that is the case, skip it.
Product Packaging
Certain natural products such as natural deodorants can be purchased in cardboard tubes. These tubes and any other cardboard or paperboard packaging are great brown products to add to your compost pile.
Be sure to remove any glue or stickers on the packaging before tearing them into smaller pieces and adding them to your compost mixture.
Composting bathroom waste is nowhere near as easy as composting kitchen waste. However, for those who are genuinely trying to live a zero-waste life or who want a great compost pile, they should not be overlooked.
By including them, you take one extra step toward making sure your composted soil turns out to be precisely what you need it to be.
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