Composting has been around since the beginning of time, but the climate crisis has driven up interest in turning waste into fertilizer in recent decades. While some people do their own composting , others take advantage of weekly compost pickups provided by their cities or towns, or visit bins at their local farmers market to drop off their compostable waste.

Composting reduces waste and lowers greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 50% , making it an important action step in the fight against climate change. Unfortunately, composting can be incredibly confusing for beginners. What can you compost, and what cant you compost? Does biodegradable mean compostable? What kind of bin do you need? If youre not doing it right, you could be wasting a lot of time and energy without even making a positive impact.

Here are the most common mistakes sustainability experts see composting novices making.

Giving Up Too Quickly

Mark Driscoll, a sustainability expert and founder of the sustainable food systems consultancy Tasting the Future , is the first to admit that composting is an art, especially if youre composting in your own backyard or even saving up compost throughout the week. People give up too early when things go wrong, he said. For example, people often fail to get the right mix of green and brown material within their compost bins/heap. Unless your grass clippings are mixed with brown material, it will turn into sticky, smelly sludge.

He explained that greens are things like grass clippings, uncooked kitchen waste, fruit and vegetable peelings and leafy plants. Browns, on the other hand, include items like hedge clippings, wood chips, leaves, plant stems, paper (including shredded paper), cards and paper straws, wooden egg boxes and paper-based tea bags.