There are many things that can go in your compost bin. It’s not just for leftovers and other organic waste that can’t be thrown away any other way. Even if something doesn’t seem like it would break down easily, if it was alive at one point and is made of plant materials, you can probably compost it.
Although, there are some things that will keep your compost from working well. If you want to get the most out of your compost, you should avoid putting certain things in it.
If you’ve found yourself wondering “are tea leaves compostable?”, “how do I do it?” and “how long will they take to compost?”: you’ve come to the right place.
Can you put tea leaves in the compost?
Yes, tea leaves are compostable. Adding tea leaves to your compost pile will contribute to creating a nutrient-rich fertiliser that you can use in your garden.
Can you put them in the waste bin?
If you don’t have a compost bin, you can put organic materials in the appropriate roadside collection bin but biodegradable materials like tea leaves are better off being in a compost pile.
Disposing of organic or compostable waste like organic materials in landfill can contribute to the release of potent greenhouse gases like methane, which has around 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide.
Methane emissions are significantly reduced by composting suitable food waste and organic materials.
How to compost tea leaves
You should remove the tea leaves from the tea bag if you’ve used one because most tea bags aren’t compostable.
As a green material, you should be adding tea leaves and other green nitrogen-rich materials then a layer of brown to cover it. Remember to use a garden fork or a stick to poke holes in your compost every couple of weeks to mix the pile up.
How long will tea leaves take to compost?
It takes 4 weeks for tea leaves to completely decompose in a compost. Because they decompose relatively quickly, you can regularly add them to your compost.
Tea leaves discarded on the ground or buried in the ground will take longer to decompose.
Are tea leaves a green or brown material?
Tea leaves should be considered a green material when composting.
Materials that are green, like tea leaves, are often more wet and softer recently-living organic material; and are a source of nitrogen (one of the four essential ingredients) for your compost. Green nitrogen-rich materials provide a lot of the vital nutrients that microbes need to speed up the process of decomposition. Ideally your compost mix should consist of about 1 part of green material for every 4 parts of brown material.
Composts rely on green materials like tea leaves to add the neccessary proteins and other nourishment for the microbes to thrive to the pile.
Will composting them attract pests?
No. Tea leaves will not attract pests.
Composting considerations
When composting tea leaves, you should avoid putting teabags in the compost that are labeled as ‘biodegradable’ as they are likely to not be suitable for composting.
