(Radio Iowa) – Composting can be an environmentally friendly way to take care of holiday waste. Jennifer Trent with the Iowa Waste Reduction Center says there are some things that will draw unwanted pests. “You want to avoid fats, oils, grease, and dairy because that’ll bring in crows and hawks and raccoons,” she says. Trent also cautions against composting gift wrap.

“Don’t put wrapping paper in your compost pile because it has a lot of dyes and possibly heavy metals in it, so that would be toxic to any compost that you’re using,” Trent says.

She says cardboard and food leftovers are ideal compostables.