Dispose of ashes on the compost

Only add small amounts of ash to the compost

It used to be a matter of course to dispose of ashes on the compost. In today's times, composting ash is no longer entirely safe. This is due to the increased environmental pollution, due to which wood in particular is contaminated with many heavy metals.

If large amounts of ash are placed on the compost, this can lead to calcification of the soil or even to poisoning.

Ash should therefore only be composted in small quantities.

Ash suitable for composting

• Wood ash from untreated trees
• Coal / briquette
• Paper ash without paint residues

Compost only ashes from untreated woods

Not all ashes are allowed on the compost. If the wood you burned was varnished, stained or glued, the ashes never belong in the compost and should not be burned anyway.

This also applies to wood from trees that have stood directly on busy roads. In such woods, the exposure to harmful heavy metals is particularly high.

You should therefore only compost wood ash if you know exactly where it came from.

Paper only without color

If you burn paper in the stove or fireplace, make sure that you only use materials that are printed in one color. Colored papers or glossy papers also contain heavy metals that do not break down in the compost, but unnecessarily pollute the later natural fertilizer.

Small additions of ash improve the compost

The ashes of untreated wood, charcoal or non-colored paper contain a number of important nutrients. You can therefore safely add small amounts to the compost.

Sprinkle only a thin layer at a time and mix the ash with other green waste. Lawn clippings can be loosened up with ashes, for example. It then rots faster.

You can improve particularly very clayey, heavy soil with wood ash. Ashes can also improve compacted soils.

It is better to only fertilize flower beds with composted ash

The one created when the ashes were composted fertilizer can be heavily loaded under certain circumstances. Therefore, to be on the safe side, you should only use it on flower beds. This fertilizer is not suitable for vegetable patches because of the possible health risks.

Can wood ash from the grill be put on the compost?

Wood ash that has been burned on the grill should not be thrown on the compost, but should be disposed of with household waste. When grilling, fat drips into the charcoal. This creates the harmful acrylamide, which poisons the soil in the garden.