A Paper Shredder for your Compost Pile

[Shellyann36]

Thank you for the links! I find the articles very interesting. I think that I'll try composing paper then. I write all the time and I always have tons of paper so it will be nice to do something with it.

Glad to help you out with this. I have been using my junk mail, newspapers and cardboard in my compost for years with no adverse effects. Good luck with yours!

 

[headfullofbees]

I've just bought one for making worm bedding.

 

[alp]

If you want to buy one, best to get one which can do cross cuttings or even better a micro cut shredder.

Personally, I have never seen one with micro-cut. Read somewhere that Lidl was selling one cross cut at £26..

 

[MoonShadows]

See my thread at: https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/using-cardboard-in-my-compost-pile.12776/#post-120995

I am using a paper shredder to shred corrugated cardboard for my compost pile and my vermicomposter.

 

[MoonShadows]

*Added later: Responding to post directly above this one that was deleted by moderator. It was full of "review" links.

One thing you need to be careful about when you visit these review sites as in the post above, is they sound very official, but if all their links go to Amazon, most likely the author is an Amazon affiliate. If you wind up clicking that link and buying through that link, the author makes a commission from Amazon. Once you click that link...even once...a "cookie" is set on your computer. Unless you delete your cookies, you can go back to that link days, sometimes weeks or months later...depending on the duration of that cookie set by Amazon...and if you buy the item, the author still makes the commission. So, beware of such review sites. Most of the time they are nothing but "veiled" sales sites to make someone money. and not true review sites. Buyer beware!

 

[zigs]

I just spam banned him

 

[MoonShadows]

LOL...I figured he would get nailed. I just thought I could offer some helpful info to anyone who came across his post before he got whacked.

Most likely, he was the operator of these "review" sites.

 

[zigs]

Good move

Don't be afraid to use the report button if you're not sure about something

We can take a deeper look

 

[MoonShadows]

Thanks, @zigs . I have used it in the past. I was looking up the whois for those URLS he posted to see who owned them, but they all had private registration. By the time I got back to the thread, you had already made your move. I probably should have reported it right away.

 

[zigs]

No worries

Said he was from the USA, strange that he went all the way to India to post though

 

[MoonShadows]

 

[roadrunner]

I put all mine in the recycle bin, with exception of a newspaper-style coupon pamphlet, which I use to make biodegradable plant pots for my seedlings. The only paper products I compost are greasy paper or paper that had been in contact with food of any type and tissue/napkin products.

EDIT: I just realized how old this thread is

 

[UrbanWild]

To be honest, I had no idea that paper is safe to compost. Doesn't it contain chemicals? Chlorine for example?
Usually, when I have too much paper, I burn it in a furnace.

Paper & cardboard are frequently used in gardening and vermiculture. They seem like the perfect tools ...waste paper products used in a variety of REALLY handy ways. And it works for a lot of purposes, However, the issues with paper/cardboard items and chemicals are real and complicated. This link should be enough of a starting point to go down the rabbit hole:

List of Chemicals used in Pulp and Paper Making

List of Chemicals used in Pulp and Paper Making

www.paperonweb.com

So it isn't simply toxic glues and absolutely not just wood pulp. The FDA in the US addressed just 3 chemicals in wide use for things like pizza boxes. That only scratches the surface of chemicals used by the paper industry. . Look on the bottom of a LOT of produce boxes. Many contain warnings regarding reuse.

People make their own decisions as to safety and acceptability. In short, I don't use chems, nor do I use paper products composted into garden amendments. I'm expending far too much effort and time to build long-term resources here to not consider the precautionary principle. Usually what does come onto property as a result of shipping and/or transport leaves just as quickly in the recycling bin or reused. Almost anything *could* be used for something else or in new ways. I guess I'm trying to say I try not to let what I "can be doing" override "should be doing". I'm already dealing with decades of coal burning and don't feel like I need to be trading current soil legacy issues for future potential ones. YMMV.