Can You Compost Paper Towels? Here's What to Know Before You Toss Them

Many of us use paper towels to dry our hands, clean our kitchens, and sop up spills. If you automatically dispose of them in the garbage, you might want to reconsider—paper towels are usually compostable.

Not all paper towels, however, are suitable for composting. Here's a guide to when you should and shouldn’t compost paper towels, plus a step-by-step for transforming paper towels into garden-ready compost in just a few weeks.

Why Compost Paper Towels?

Composting paper towels is better for the environment than tossing them in the regular trash. In landfills, the breakdown of paper towels, paper napkins, and other organic matter happens in low-oxygen (anaerobic) conditions, which releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. However, when paper towels decompose in oxygen-filled compost piles, they break down much faster and don’t impact the environment in the same way. Composting paper towels also reduces kitchen waste and is a great way to generate more compost for your garden and houseplants.

Are Paper Towels Compostable?

Most paper towels and napkins are made from the pulp of softwood trees or paper products that are no longer suitable for recycling. During processing, wood or paper pulp is pressed into soft and absorbent sheets. Often, the sheets are embossed with images for aesthetic reasons, and/or air pockets are added for increased absorption. Paper towel pulp may be bleached during this process or left unbleached and natural.

Because paper towels are made from plants, they are fully biodegradable and compostable. If you add paper towels to a hot compost pile (one that reaches and maintains a temperature of 141°F to 145°F for at least several days), you can expect them to decompose into compost in about 45 days.

Unbleached paper towels are better for composting and more earth-friendly than bleached ones, but even bleached paper towels can be composted in small quantities.

When Not to Compost Paper Towels

Avoid composting paper towels and paper napkins when they’ve come in contact with materials you wouldn’t want in your compost pile, such as:

• Human or pet waste: Waste from cats, dogs, and humans harbors pathogens that may survive the composting process. However, it is safe to compost paper towels if they have come in contact with waste from non-carnivorous pets, such as rabbits.
• Germs: Paper towels that you used to blow your nose should not be added to your compost pile.
• Chemicals and cleaning products: Paper towels are compostable if they have been used to sop up natural cleaners, such as vinegar or baking soda. But don’t throw paper towels into your compost pile if you used them to clean with harsher cleaning supplies.
• Raw meat: Like pet waste, raw meat may contain pathogens that may survive the composting process. Meat smells also attract insect pests and rodents.

5 Tips for Composting Paper Towels Faster

Like other organic matter, paper towels will eventually transform into compost, even if you do nothing more than throw them in your compost pile. However, if you want to turn old paper towels into finished compost as quickly as possible, here are a few tips to try.

1. Tear Them Up

Whether you’re composting food scraps or old paper towels, organic matter breaks down faster if it’s torn or cut into small pieces before composting. To make composting easier, gather non-food composting materials, like dry paper towels, cardboard, and napkins, together in an indoor composter or paper bag tucked under your kitchen sink. Then shred these paper items all at once when you add them to your outdoor compost bin.

2. Add Water

Shredding paper towels speeds up composting, but it also helps paper towels decompose faster by wetting them just before you place them in your compost pile. After adding your composting ingredients, check your compost bin often and add extra moisture if needed. For proper composting, compost piles should be about as wet as a wrung-out sponge.

3. Combine With Green and Brown Materials

Paper towels are considered to be “brown” or carbon-rich composting ingredients and they need to be mixed with nitrogen-rich, “green” ingredients to break down properly. Generally speaking, you’ll want about 1 part nitrogen-rich materials, like food scraps, for every 3 parts of carbon-rich ingredients. Aside from paper towels, shredded newspaper, cardboard, sawdust, dry autumn leaves, and twigs also count as “brown” ingredients.

4. Turn the Pile

Paper towels and other compost ingredients break down faster in hot compost piles than in cold ones. One of the best ways to make compost piles hotter is to turn or aerate your compost every 3 to 4 days (to make it easy on you, use a compost tumbler). Keep track of compost temperatures with a compost thermometer to pinpoint the perfect time to turn your pile.

5. Avoid Dairy, Fats, and Oils

Dairy, fats, and oils have no place in the compost pile because they attract pests and slow down the composting process, paper towels that are saturated with oil or butter should be left out entirely. The only exception is paper towels with just a few light vegetable oil stains. Add only very few of them and bury them in the center of compost piles speeds up the breakdown process.

Earth-Friendly Alternatives to Bleached Paper Towels

Composting paper towels and other paper products can lower your impact and make your home more earth-friendly. But if you want to reduce your environmental impact even further, swap out bleached paper towels for these more sustainable alternatives:

• Unbleached, chlorine-free bamboo or recycled paper towels
• Rolls of reusable fabric paper towels
• Cotton hand towels
• Old cotton t-shirts and other upcycled rags
• Swedish dishcloths