I love to use cardboard for this and under mulch. Earthworms love cardboard as long as it isn't the shiny kind.

Thank you for posting this

Well I figure you pay for them with the shipping fees, might as well use them for some good and not just throw them away.

Amen to that

I've read that a heat gun or an iron make it easy to remove tape and labels.

But I haven 't bought either one yet, to try it out.

They throw away a LOT of big cardboard boxes where I work ... or, rather, they recycle them in the "Corrugated" dumpster.

@RickCorey That would be nice to know if they do work. If you try it be sure to post your results!

I've priced used irons at Goodwill: too expensive, and I have no other use for it. But I might buy a heat gun some day!

I'll be sure to post the results.

The tape and labels come off effortlessly once the cardboard is adequately wet. But we just tear the tape off and leave the labels on; they all decompose nicely.

I find appliance and furniture stores are rich sources of cardboard. We dumpster dive our local stores every weekend and always come home with a truck load of cardboard.

"get rid of boxes you may not want others to see"
You are so right--trash day doesn't come soon enough sometimes. I was kind of embarrassed when I started breaking down all my nursery flats and shipping boxes. I had enough to cover a mile of pathways, I think!
Dave, we should have a dumpster diver badge! Mine would have 3 bars under it.
I'm a big believer in Freecycling and recycling.
The new construction dumpsters down the street from me are a great source for prizes.

I also find a lot of them at our local Dollar Store. They have a dumpster out back full of cardboard boxes. I just go get what I need.

I find most tape comes off easy and I too leave the labels on. I even shred toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls. I also shred mail as long as it is not glossy paper. I do cut out the cellophane windows on envelopes. Does anyone know if cellophane will compost?

I usually burn addressed, paranoid about throwing them in the trash. Didn't really think about putting them in there also. Good Idea!

Thanks they compost great been doing it for several years

Cellophane itself is biodegradable.
- - - - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...

But are we sure that the film over the envelope window is literally "cellophane"?

Cellophane is just cellulose, dissolved and then re-precipitated and washed, with glycerin added to keep it soft and flexible. By itself, cellophane film repels water but lets water vapor pass through. Since it's nothing but cellulose, it's chemically like paper without the lignin and binders ... it's all one sheet instead of thin fibers, but still just cellulose.

If extruded as a thread instead of as a film, it's called rayon.

It does repel bacteria, so I would expect it to break down somewhat slower than paper.

(Some cellophane is made impenetrable to water vapor by coating it with a little nitrocellulose lacquer. I would not think envelope windows are coated that way - it would be quite futile. Paper lets water vapor AND liquid water go RIGHT through! Despite the name, nitrocellulose isn't toxic. It's used in nail polish, playing cards and ping-pong balls. It used to be used as a wound dressing (collodion) and as lacquer on guitars.)

An easy test for patient people would be to cut those windows out of a few weeks' worth of bills. Then crumble them together with a handful of compost that's fresh and "cooking". Tuck the bundle into one part of a compost heap, or bury it in fertile soil, and mark the spot with a mini-blind slat or bamboo skewer. Check it once a month until the cellophane and the paper its glued to "dissolve".

If it breaks down slower than you like, shred it into slivers before adding to the heap. Until it breaks down, it's an inert fiber soil amendment. After it breaks down, it's fungus-food.

Interesting, about the cellophane. Thanks for the link. Since our land is termite infested, anything that has cellulose content on the soil is soon detected by them and attacked by termites in quick time. As such, I cannot use any wooden things in my garden, driven into the soil. So even if I use the cardboard under the bed, they will soon be taken away by them. In a way, termites makes the earth porous as to absorb moisture. I use the waste boxes, paper and such for our hot water boiler. Then I use ash in small quantities to the soil as it has phosphorus. I use the good boxes for storing things, in the absence of proper shelves or storage places in our century old house.

Thanks for info on the cellophane. I won't worry about it and will just compost it. I shred sale papers also unless i keep them for when I donaye stuff to resale where 100% of procedes go to help people. Thanks for doing the research

Yes, Thanks! I sure didn't know that about Cellophane.

Wikipedia makes it easy to be curious. But I try to find some confirmation before taking it at its word.

>> In a way, termites makes the earth porous as to absorb moisture.

Good point! But I bet no one ever imports them deliberately to aerate their soil.