News: Paper in Compost
This article is from the “Balcony Compost Newsletter (Compost This!)” Please use the form on the right to sign up for the semi-monthly newsletter if you thought this information was helpful
Paper as we all may know is carbon based. So it’s great to compost, right? Yes! BUT! There are lots of different types of paper out there and some are more compostable than others.
The best paper to use for composting is newspaper. This is because the great majority of newspapers use safe vegetable based dye for ink. The inserts, though, are no bueno. That’s because they aren’t made by the newspaper company and often are glossy and printed with inks with high metallic content.
The only reason you need to care about this though is if the compost is going to be used for edibles (like your tomatoes). Otherwise no biggy.
Normal office paper can also be composted. The reason pages are white is because they are bleached. Worms hate bleach. Bleach is a toxin so we can’t blame them. This also shouldn’t be composted for edibles.
Glossy paper is bad.
Make sure to shred your paper! The more surface area the better. For both the worms and the microbes.
