Food scraps (including things like melon rinds, roots, stems, leaves, cores, husks, seeds, skins, peels, etc.). Exceptions to this are listed below.

Egg shells (but not whole eggs), seaweed and rinsed seashells (like oyster shells; not shrimp peels)

Old natural fiber clothing (old t-shirts, socks, boxers, etc)

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• Natural yarn, twine and string

• Non-glossy paper products (cardboard boxes, newspapers, magazine inserts, most junk mail, envelopes, etc)

• Tea leaves and bags (remove the staple!); coffee grinds and filters

• Dead plants, grass clippings, pine needles and leaves – just make sure they have not been sprayed with pesticides

• Natural non-treated wood and byproducts like wood ash, sawdust and shavings (no coal ash)

• Feathers and hair (human, cat, dog, etc.)

• Dryer lint

• Small amounts of old aged pine needles. (Freshly fallen has too much acidity)

• Honeydew, Cantelope rinds.  Apple peels.

• Soy flour for the protein it has in it.

Items NOT to put in the worm bin:

 

• Lemon, lime, orange or other citrus peels and juice (in excess this will make the soil too acidic)

• Onions and garlic (a good rule of thumb is if it makes you smell, it makes your worm bin smell)

• Meat, fats, grease, bones or oils (no butter, lard, stocks, soups, etc)

• Spicey foods, no strawberries

• No dairy products (cheese, milk, 

• Sauces that contribute too much moisture and drown the worms.

• Plastics and plastic coated paper (like glossy magazines)

• Stickers, including veggie stickers (remove stamps from envelopes)

• Bread or yeast products (no crackers or cakes)

• Salt, pepper and other spices

• Cat or dog feces

• Diseased or infested plants

• Treated wood products

• Shrimp Peels