Seems everything has to be shredded these days to protect against misuse of one's personal information. I shred a lot of stuff. I think it is okay to put the shredded paper into the compost heap, but I wanted to ask to be sure. Is it okay?

I found this on-line.

https://www.sierraclub.org/sie....

I've always added it to my six compost bins. Mix it in well as you would with any additions.

I do not have a pile, but I send all of my clippings, etc., to the city for its compost programme. I just toss everything into those big brown lawn and leaf sacks. They compost it all including the sacks! Works out well until/unless I can find a way to have a compost bin of my own one day.

I have read that one should not use colored paper in your compost pile so I only include paper printed in black ink.

I try to only use plain white paper, with just black ink. I hear there are metals and other compounds in colored ink and paper that are not good for your compost.

I think the weekly sale circulars have some bad colored ink sometimes, but I think most ink is made of soybean oil now. I think the plastic windows from envelopes would be bad to have in compost.

I have heard not to use paper/cardboard with shiny pictures or colored ink.

Same here.

Yes, that is what I have always heard also.

I keep a can in my kitchen an put all paper towels an tissue in it along with my other goodies.

Great idea.

I used to put paper towels in my compost, found they just did not break down that fast, guess that's why they are so good at mopping up liquid messes

YMMV on towels, I guess. My Work uses those really rough cheap brown folded ones, they fall apart ok.
Coffee filters can be surprisingly persistent.

I have a micro shredder that i use to shred all my junk mail and cardboard boxes. I use it as mulch, not in my compost pile. I used to take all this stuff to the recycle station.

I found that micro shredded paper does not get blown by the wind (at all), so it works great as a mulch. And, the brown from cardboard boxes is much better to look at in the garden. The white kind of makes it look like snow...

Most of the colored paper bad articles I have read are opinions. Colored paper is recycle-able. Paper napkins and kleenix are not. I use anything that can be recycled in my mulch. Also, i think napkins/tissue are not easy to shred:)

crawgarden said: I used to put paper towels in my compost, found they just did not break down that fast, guess that's why they are so good at mopping up liquid messes

Well quit buyin them high dollar "quicker picker uppers" an buy the cheapo's.....they break down good.....

Double that, cheap paper towels have no problem "melting" when wet. I never buy tissues with lotion or anything else. Just the very absorbent, very cheapest ones. And the box is purple.

I put shredded paper as mulch, or as compost. But I keep it in the back as mulch because it stays white for a long time.

The no colored ink thing is a hangover from the days when colored ink had lead or other heavy metal contaminants in it. That hasn't been the case for decades. Personally I avoid the glossy colored paper and cardboard because it doesn't break down as well or thoroughly as plain brown cardboard, and I have access to plenty of plain brown cardboard anyway. I'm big on cardboard but as mulch UNDERLAYMENT and weed block. In very hot areas it helps cool the soil and makes it more comfy for my worm friends. In spring the dark mulch overlayment (I use bark or ground up yard waste as mulch) helps warm the soil when it is cool. Overall mulch/cardboard serves to moderate soil temps and make it more comfy for worms and beneficial microbiome inhabitants.

Yesterday I was planting ornamentals and butterfly/hummingbird plants in a less than one year old bed that had been worked in July last year by breaking up the top layer of soil to one shovel-depth, pulling out the mostly-weeds-and-their-roots from the top layer, breaking up the big clods, and then planting some nursery plants and covering with some bagged cedar mix mulch (which means mostly ground up hardwoods and softwoods with just enough cedar in it to make it smell cedar-y for about the first 5 minutes out of the bag).

Last year I found maybe one or two worms in those areas of my front yard I was able to get worked up this way.

This year, as I pushed the now thin layer of mulch back to plant the new plants, there were worms galore, including at the top layers just under the mulch. Push the mulch back, worms. Stick a trowel in, worms in every trowel load of soil. If you mulch it, they will come.

I don't have compost piles and haven't for decades. It all goes right into the garden. I suppose what I do now is called trench composting? sort of? But worms come and eat whatever I put out. It amounts to on site vermicomposting and I have never bought a single worm. I mulch it. I lay out vegetative waste for them. I may or may not cover with cardboard, it doesn't seem to matter as long as there is a top layer of something. Worms come and eat and leave me with much improved fluffier healthier soil, and no compost piles to turn.

Cardboard, paper, etc. seems like the perfect tool...trash becomes handy. 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:

https://www.paperonweb.com/che...

So it isn't simply glues and definitely 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. Look on the bottom of a LOT of produce boxes. Many contain warnings regarding reuse.

We all make our own decisions of acceptability but I've put in far too much effort and time to build long-term resources here to not consider the precautionary principle. I don't use paper in the compost. Usually what does come onto property as a result of shipping and/or transport leaves just as quickly. Almost anything could be used for something else or in new ways. I guess I'm trying to say that I try not to let "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 legacy issues for future potential ones. YMMV.

I appreciate your input, UrbanWild.

Original question being white paper, I let that go to recycle with my logic being it is premium material in the recycle chain and best used that way.

I have enough trees, shrubs and yard that I never lack in brown material, for that reason I keep as much of my own 'browns' as I can and do not use the commercial papers or cardboard, as I consider them also stripped of the minerals that may remain in any plant waste from on site.