What not to compost

So I've seen thirty different versions of what seems like the same thing now.
General consensus that I keep getting is that you want your greens and browns in the compost bin. I myself have mostly mulberry leaves, sticks and twigs from same tree, straw, grass trimmings and pretty much any vegetable scraps that don't make it in either my broths or food directly. We also use chicken "offerings" and a decent amount of cardboard or paper scraps. I also love getting the usual “Surprise! Potato plant!”
But what about what not to put in? I’ve seen some conflicting information.

Some maybes (depending on who is saying what)

Ive seen:
• Wood ash
• Branches
• Coal
• Bark
• Egg shells

Some Definitely nots:
• Walnuts
• Cooking oil
• Meat
• Fruit Insides
• Treated wood

Anybody got a definitive (or near definitive) list? Or perhaps some expounding information on why some of these are in certain categories?

And not to gross anyone out, but I’ve also seen that human waste (1’s and 2’s) is fine or beneficial.

Understanding what not to put in is about knowing WHY those people choose not to put those things in.

For example, meat and meat scraps. These go in our heap and they break down fast, provided the heap is hot and there is plenty of browns. People who don't put meat in probably have had bad experiences with cold heaps, and meat that then attracts flies, rats and other scavengers.

Sticks don't go in our compost heap. They go on the burn pile. Sticks WILL compost, but they take a lot longer than everything else. Then when you dig the heap out they get in the way and make the compost hard to use.

Walnuts - the squirrels bury those in the heap whether we want it or not. Once in a while one germinates somewhere. When it does we pull it out.

The problem with those kind of lists like you describe is that someone, somewhere, probably has a really good reason that justifies THEIR opinion... but those become rules that everyone, everywhere now needs to follow.

Michael Cox wrote:
Sticks don't go in our compost heap. They go on the burn pile. Sticks WILL compost, but they take a lot longer than everything else. Then when you dig the heap out they get in the way and make the compost hard to use.

I don't put alot of sticks in my pile, I have a few near the ends (almost off to the side). I practice Hügelkultur so it helps me get sort of a running start on some of the more denser wood. We don't have a burn pile and If we did I'm pretty sure I'd be greated by pitchforks from the neighbors where I live. So what does that say about ash then? I know that you don't want to pile it on too thick and wet it down because it produces an alkali. I use it sparingly.

I'm still in the basic processes of my compost pile. It's still an ongoing trial and error. What do you think about eggshells? I can't do meat at the moment, because I tried some version of that and my dog decided he wanted a taste. I'll have to start doing bins to keep him out in that case. Right now my two piles are growing into three.

I think michael is absolutely right. Composting seems to be more about what you are trying to accomplish and how you go about it, than what the materials are. I wouldn't put treated wood in my compost, not because I don't think it would break down, but because I don't want chemicals in my garden compost. If it is or was organic (living), then it can become compost. Any restrictions I have ever seen are always about the side effects and not whether it can actually be composted. Attracting animals, adding chemicals, making the pile too hot, making it too cold, etc.  are the complaints. Also, is the compost pile the best option? Would vermicompost be better? How about black soldier fly composting? What about chickens turning it into eggs, or pigs turning it into bacon?

I would change the question from "what can I?" to "how can I in the best way?"

Matt McSpadden wrote:
I would change the question from "what can I?" to "how can I in the best way?"

alright. That makes sense.

It's really been just trial and error. I just happen to find conflicting information based on the ever-important "good bacteria" growth, and inhibiting the "bad bacteria" growth. We compost just about everything we can, Our trashcan rarely even gets filled with a family of 5. I just don't want to throw something in there that's going to cause another plague is all.

not clear on ‘fruit insides’…unless there’s something i’m missing about it, there’s not a thing i can think of about any fruit available to me that wouldn’t be compostable.

greg mosser wrote:not clear on ‘fruit insides’…unless there’s something i’m missing about it, there’s not a thing i can think of about any fruit available to me that wouldn’t be compostable.

https://www.buschsystems.com/resource-center/page/7-things-you-shouldn-t-compost

the high acidity content breaks down the good bacteria. Hence why I was asking about the different parts of the compost, because some people say it's good and some people say it's not. There isn't a definite answer it seems on anything. So, It's really just whatever the composter feels is best I guess. I have very little experience in this area. I'm just trying to figure out what a decent path would look like before I make some kind of irreversible mistake.

interesting list there! i notice that where they say never compost meat or dairy they have an aside that ‘maybe you can bury it deeper’

the amounts being composted definitely matter. i can say that i’ve composted squeezed lemon halves frequently (a number per week) but never in an amount that really swamps other ingredients, and have never had issues with them not breaking down or noticeably slowing down the breakdown of other things.

Yeah, I think the amounts are probably the most important. I throw an orange or lemon in the heap from time to time and it doesn't feel like it's going to impact what I have going. I think for what I have now (just the two or three simple piles) is fine for what I need at the moment.

I still don;t know if eggshells are a good or bad thing. (once again moderation is key)

maybe there is a specific process? My wife didn't want to put eggshells in the bin because of salmonella. I have no idea.

I am more concerned about what might eat/rip apart my compost (talking about meat/oil/eggs)-- for me, it`s only rats, if I can keep my bokashi bucket tight i`m fine.
I've trench composted plenty of citrus pulp and peels- I throw some lime on top and let it do its thing. When I have lots of citrus waste, I'm not going to throw it in the trash.

I think it's very easy to get obsessive about compost (gardening... beermaking... breadmaking....). If you have time to experiment, you can find out exactly what works for you, your environment, your inputs, your local animals, etc. I think the best attitude for all of these is to take a deep breath and let nature, the bugs, bateria, etc all do their thing. For every "rule", here on Permies you're going to find three exceptions, all with great reasons.