Can I place weeds and diseased plant debris from the vegetable garden in the compost pile?

Question:

Can I place weeds and diseased plant debris from the vegetable garden in the compost pile?

Answer:

It would be best to place weeds that are producing seeds and diseased plant debris in biodegradable bags and have the material picked up and composed by a municipal or commercial composting facility.  The temperatures in home compost piles seldom get high enough to kill weed seeds and disease pathogens.  However, the weed seeds and disease pathogens will be destroyed by the higher temperatures at municipal and commercial composting facilities.  The compost produced at composting facilities can often be purchased by home gardeners and commercial landscape companies.