Can I Compost Tissues?

You can compost tissues – as long as they’ve not been used to clean up anything yacky.

What do we mean by “yacky”? Well, anything on the “don’t compost this” list really – if you’ve used your tissue to wipe your nose or your bum, to clean up most pet waste or oil spills, or used it in connection with chemical cleaners/agents, then you shouldn’t compost them. The goop might attract unwanted pests to the heap or could be harbouring nasty bacteria or pathogens which might not get broken down composting process.

Tissues with a bit of wee on them are fine though – you can compost that (as long as the producer is healthy). Ditto tissues used to wipe up a little bit of blood.

Tissues or kitchen roll used to clean up food messes are usually fine too – unless they’re completely saturated with something from the “no” list, they’ll probably breakdown before it becomes a problem. Ditto paper napkins – as long as they’re not too greasy.

Share this post