Flour is a common product in any kitchen. It is used in baking and many areas of cooking. This leads you to wonder, can you compost flour? Yes, you can. Pretty easily, in fact.
There are many types of flour, and they can all be added to a compost pile. They are a rich source of nitrogen as well as protein.
Beware the Weevil!
One thing to be cautious of is weevils. These are little brown bugs that can invade flour. They are very small but brown in color, so they often stand out against most flours. If you see weevils in your flour, you either want to kill them before adding flour to compost or throw the flour out.
You can kill the weevils by freezing the flour at 0 degrees F for three days. After that, you should be safe to the flour to your compost pile.
How to Compost Flour
You want to avoid dumping a bag of flour into your compost pile. It clumps up and blocks airflow into your compost. This actually slows the process down. You are better off spreading the flour throughout your compost pile and mixing it with the other materials that you are composting.
Can You Compost the Flour Bag?
Most flours come in a paper bag. It usually has several layers. You can compost this too but make sure to rip it into small pieces or it will take a long time to compost.
Composting Flour with Worms
If you are doing vermicomposting or using worms to compost, then you can add flour to your compost bin. It helps the worms by giving them protein. However, don’t add large amounts. The flour then clumps up, creating impenetrable bricks of flour in your compost. The worms will leave those bricks and move on to easier food.
Turning your compost regularly will help keep it from clumping up.
Is Flour a Brown Material or a Green Material?
Flour is a brown material. This means that it is richer in carbon than green material and will take longer than most green material.
Make sure to keep the ratio of brown to green materials right in your compost pile.
Can I Compost Flour?
Yes, you can compost flour. Keep an eye out for weevils. Make sure to spread the flour in your compost bin, and you should be ready to go. You can even compost the paper bag that the flour comes in.