[Thamesmeadhammer]

The wife and I are having a "discussion" about the use of shredded paper on the plot. You know the stuff that you shred bills, junk etc....

I said you can use it in the compost bins and at the bottom of bean trenches but she's having none of it !

Please settle this row !

[mumofstig]

I use mine  ...make sure you give it a good soak in the bean trenches

[Jodie A]

Mine goes in too, more so in summer so I can layer it with lawn cuttings.

Brown/green/brown/green and all that.

[UrbanG]

Old News papers make an ideal mulch for a new plot or raised beds as it keeps the sun from the weeds and grass under the paper and over time it decomposes away.

So, based on that I would say paper can deffo be used to add to your compost heap.

[pairofacres]

From what I've heard of things, newspaper is fine, as the inks used are vegetable based, but laser printed paper is probably best avoided, as the toners contain some pretty nasty stuff which shouldn't be allowed to get into the water table.

[mumofstig]

shouldn't be allowed to get into the water table

is this really a problem with small amounts of paper composted on the plot ?

[Tattyanne456]

I shred all my waste paper and either put in the compost bin, or use it as bedding for the chooks. I also compost ALL of my kitchen towel.

[hightide]

I use a layer of shredded paper between Bokashi Bin additions to the compost heap as the contents are usually too wet, torn up cardboard and egg boxes too. A good mix up from time to time, the shreddies aerate the compost and stops the heap going to slime in the winter.  :happy:   

[Ropster]

mine goes in the compost bin

[pairofacres]

is this really a problem with small amounts of paper composted on the plot ?

I probably didn't put that very well. As I understand it, laser toners tend to seep into water tables and are toxic. Carbon black is a carcinogen and the particles are known to cause lung damage through airborne exposure. Allowing them to end up in the soil you're growing food in probably isn't a particularly good idea.

[Thamesmeadhammer]

Pariofacres

There's only a very small percentage of paper that has been thru a laser jet about 3%. The rest is the usual bill, junk mail etc....that has been preprinted !

Should I just dump this with the rubbish or burn this this and sort thru future items ?  :blink:

[Yorkie]

All my shredded paper goes onto the compost bins too

[pairofacres]

It's really another of those great unknowns. If you read the safety data sheets for laser toner cartridges, they make mention of some pretty serious toxicity risks. Handling the paper presumably isn't a significant risk, but concentrating it in compost so that it enters the food chain isn't something which seems advisable.

Personally, I'd stick it in the recycling bin and look for other stuff to compost instead. Cardboard food packaging generally uses vegetable inks, so tends to be a good option.

[BostonInbred]

It's really another of those great unknowns. If you read the safety data sheets for laser toner cartridges, they make mention of some pretty serious toxicity risks. Handling the paper presumably isn't a significant risk, but concentrating it in compost so that it enters the food chain isn't something which seems advisable.

Personally, I'd stick it in the recycling bin and look for other stuff to compost instead. Cardboard food packaging generally uses vegetable inks, so tends to be a good option.

yes but the amount of toner per page is minute - toner cartridges have about 500g toner and that does about 20,000 pages ie  25mg per page.

Hmm, The safety data sheet lists the ingredients as

Styrene acrylate copolymer  - 55-65% and the rest is iron oxide

Based on animal experiments, chronic exposure at high doses of toner may cause
respiratory tract irritation and lung fibrosis. ie, you have to breathe it in or absorb it through your skin. However, toner is heated to make it melt into a permanent mark on the paper, so you wont get any in you from skin contact, and theres no dust to breathe when its been used.

So whereas unused toner has a slight risk, used toner is inert. Also, it decomposes to CO2 and CO.

So based on what the Safety Data Sheet says, its doesnt seem to pose much of a risk.


(sorry about the long URL)

I've removed the link BIB - I couldn't fix it.
Please don't post long links as it breaks the page and might make me want to bury you in your own compost 
Aunty

[pairofacres]

Based on animal experiments, chronic exposure at high doses of toner may cause
respiratory tract irritation and lung fibrosis. ie, you have to breathe it in or absorb it through your skin. However, toner is heated to make it melt into a permanent mark on the paper, so you wont get any in you from skin contact, and theres no dust to breathe when its been used.

Concentrating it in compost, then using it, for example, as a mulch around root veg is likely to result in it ending up passing directly into the stomach? Probably worse than moderate particulate inhalation?

So whereas unused toner has a slight risk, used toner is inert. Also, it decomposes to CO2 and CO.

You may well be right on that point, but the issue for me is that there has not been any research, as far as I'm aware, into how well it degrades and what happens to it in a composting context. At end of the day, everyone makes their own choices. Just wanted to make people aware that it's a potential risk. A lot of people are growing their own to avoid exposure to toxic or potentially damaging chemicals. Not composting laser print removes another possible risk and food packaging can generally be used as a safer option instead.