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Composting enriches and improves soil, and is also a great way to dispose of food. Since bread and other grain-based foods are an important part of many diets, it’s worth knowing whether you can compost bread.
You can compost bread and other grain products. They are a great source of nitrogen for your compost pile. Bread needs to be handled lightly so it can break down quickly and integrate with the rest of your compost pile.
Meet the expert
- Lauren Click is the founder of Let’s Go Compost, a nonprofit that makes composting free and accessible across the United States.
- Lauren Gropper To be Founder and CEO of Repurpose, a provider of biodegradable household goods.
Bread Proofing: Green vs. Brown
A healthy compost pile is made up of both green and brown materials. Green materials are nitrogen-rich materials such as food waste and grass clippings. Brown materials are dry, woody, carbon-rich materials such as twigs and leaves. For the proper compost ratio, add one part green material to three parts brown material.
Where does bread stand in the green to brown vegetable ratio?
“Bread is often considered a green food due to its high nitrogen content, despite its brown appearance,” says Lauren Click, founder of Let’s Go Compost. “This is because it is made from grains, which provide the nitrogen needed for composting bacteria to thrive.”
This means that one bin of bread should be followed by three bins of brown—material such as leaves, straw, or clean paper. For convenience, the bin does not have to contain only bread. It can be mixed with other greens.
| Green materials | Brown material |
| Bread and other baked goods | Dried leaves |
| Pasta | Sawdust |
| Vegetable scraps | Straw |
| Green yard waste | Newspaper |
| Grass clippings | Carton |
Why Composting Bread Is a Good Idea
Composting bread is effective because it is high in nitrogen. Since bread and other grain products make up a large part of your diet, you will have no shortage of compost material.
Most grains and grain products—oats, wheat, rice, quinoa, millet—contain much more nitrogen than fruits and vegetables. Whole-wheat bread contributes more nitrogen to your compost pile than white bread.
Whole-wheat bread contains about four times more nitrogen than nitrogen-rich greens like spinach and kale. You would have to add nearly a pound of raw spinach to your compost pile to equal the nitrogen content of three slices of whole-wheat bread.
| Nitrogen Content in Food | |
|---|---|
| Food (100 grams) | Nitrogen |
| Whole wheat bread | 1.97 grams |
| Whole Millet | 1.72 grams |
| white bread | 1.51 grams |
| Brown rice | 1.22 grams |
| rice | 1.18 grams |
| Kale | 0.47 grams |
| Spinach | 0.46 grams |
| Radish | 0.27 grams |
| Roma Tomatoes | 0.11 grams |
How to Add Bread to Compost
Break the bread by hand. Or use a blender or food processor to break the bread into smaller pieces with less effort. Avoid throwing whole loaves or slices of bread into the compost.
“When composting bread, try putting it in the middle of the compost pile with another layer or two on top—the middle of the compost pile is the hottest part of the compost,” says Lauren Gropper, founder and CEO of Repurpose.
Gropper says adding bread to the middle of the pile serves two purposes.
“First, it helps the bread decompose quickly. Second, it will protect the bread from insects and wildlife looking for a snack.”
Organic fertilizer of other cereal products
“Other grain products like pasta and cereals can be composted,” says Click. “Like bread, they should be broken into smaller pieces and buried deep in the pile. Breaking any grain products into smaller pieces and making sure they are well mixed in with other compost materials will help them decompose faster.”
Gropper cautions that not all grain products should go in the compost pile.
“It’s best to avoid adding foods high in sugar and milk, such as cookies and cakes.”
She notes that sugar and dairy ingredients only attract bugs and wildlife. This even includes pasta sauce.
“It often contains sugar, dairy, and oils, all of which can throw off the organic balance of the compost,” says Gropper.
Tips for Composting Bread and Grains
- Remove any fat or oil (such as frosting or cheese) from the bread.
- Rinse the sauce off the pasta.
- Warm the bread to help it decompose faster.
- Break the bread into small pieces while it is still soft to make it easier to break.
- Use bread in other ways (like making toast) before composting.
Frequently Asked Questions
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You cannot compost inorganic materials (such as plastic or metal), dairy products, pet or human waste, bones, meat scraps, fat or lard, oils, or treated wood. Also, avoid adding barbecue ash, pesticides, herbicides, diseased plants, and seafood waste to your compost pile.
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Old bread can be composted and turned into a beneficial fertilizer for plants. However, among gardening products, compost and fertilizer are not the same thing. Fertilizer, sometimes called NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) fertilizer, adds nutrients to plants in a concentrated form. Compost fertilizes the soil but also improves soil structure by helping it drain or retain water properly.
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Bread can take anywhere from a week or two to several months to decompose in a compost pile. Mold is a major cause of decomposition, so if it is already present, the bread will decompose faster. Prepare the bread for the compost pile by breaking it up and placing it in the middle of the pile to help it decompose.
