I've done a lot of research on the topic of what can and cannot be put into my compost bin. Mind you, I plan on using this compost in my vegetable garden. And for now, what I'm about to write is coming from a newbie at this with no practical experience. This is just what I have gathered thus far in terms of what I am willing to toss into the bin.
In our kitchen, we keep a nice small container next to the sink which has a charcoal filter and is very easy to clean. It's glass and nice looking; highly recommend something like this. The one we were going to get was nice, but ugly as hell. I guess if you have room under the sink that's ok, but our sink is loaded with a bunch of cleaning supplies and crap.
From the kitchen, thus far:
1) Avoid meats, dairy, and cooked food. Also, avoid limes (or so I have read).
2) Limit the fruit, but I'm tossing in my rinds from my oranges.
3) Paper towels and napkins (not if they're covered in milk or something which will stink)
4) Coffee grounds, tea bags (no staples), Egg Shells (although I read they give no benefit)
5) Raw veg peelings
6) Shredded paper. I've used junk mail and other crap I get sent to me. Tossed it into a shredded. If it had a ton of ink, I didn't use it. No glossy frames from the envelopes.
7) Pencil shavings
8) Grass, Leaves
9) Chicken Manure (bought this from the store previously)
10) Kleenex. Yes, used Kleenex even. I'm not overly concerned about any odd virus. These bins get very, very hot for extended periods of time. Most of what I read said no worries here.
Anyway, this is all happening in my first batch, so I'll have to followup with results.
I did find this cool online calculator for composting. Again, probably too anal, but useful. Most people just say wing it, and I imagine after a few batches, I will. But if interested, this is a cool Compost Calculator:
http://www.klickitatcounty.org/solidwaste/fileshtml/organics/compostcalc.htm
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