A few years ago, before I discovered David the Good, I read a book on composting (I won’t name names) and it listed a bunch of organic (plant- and animal-based) materials that shouldn’t be put in compost. Things like meat, cheese, etc. Then it had a list of things you COULD put in compost, including things like biosolids, lint from your clothes drier, and even mine tailings and certain other types of industrial waste. And I thought, since when are excreted pharmaceutical drugs, polyester fiber, and heavy metals more useful additions to a garden than nitrogen-rich meat and probiotic dairy?

I guess I am a litlte squeamish about contaminants. I see a lot of people using cardboard as weed-blockers, and I’ve never liked cardboard because of the ink and the glue (although I have used plain brown packing paper). I don’t trust that anything is “non-toxic” just because the manufacturers say it is. I agree that you have to compromise on some things because there are toxins in the very air we breathe, so it’s impossible to be a purist. But I’m also in a position right now where I can easily get more woodchips than I could ever possibly need, so I can afford to turn up my nose at cardboard boxes and paper printed with laser jet ink. What youre’ willing to put in your compost depends a lot on what materials are hardest to come by where you garden.