Using shredded paper

[Peggy Sue]

I started my first compost heap this year. I read a book called 'Lady Muck' forst which was really amusing as well as helpful. I have acces to pretty much umlimited horse manure and she suggests 80% manure on the heap if possible. The rest has been kitchen waste (uncooked) and weeds/leaves/grass cuttings.

One of the 'no-no's from this book was flowers and weeds having gone to seed, and also too much woody stuff. I have to admit I ahve just put the flowers through the lawn mover and thought they can't come to much harm, even if it means more weeding. I have jsut found the thread that recommends drowning the stuff thats gone to seed- excellent, was wondering what to do with them.

What I'm wondering about is shredded paper. We have loads at work, not newspaper but the A4 stuff. Years ago you used to be able to sell this but now I guess the council are doing that so no-one is interested and the council will only take recylcling from domestic homes not industry (too much for my recycle bin at work). So can I use some of it on my compost heap? And how much (don't want to spoil 6 months hard work...)

Any other suggestions for shredded paper- waste really bugs me!

[thomas533]

I use shredded paper from work in my worm bin. Every 6 months when my worms have finished composting a bin I fill a new bin with the shredded paper. I set it on top of the old bin and start filling with kitchen scraps and the worms move up through the drainage holes and eat the new scraps. The shredded paper gives them something to move about in and keeps the flies from getting to the food scraps.

[Pilsbury]

I chuck in about 25% sherdded paper at work but that is all the brown wate it gets, the rest is grass clippings and kitchen waste, fill a 1 cubic meter bin then turn it into the bin next door and start fillling the first bin again, it all seems to shrink as i am filling it then when i turn it it really goes to town and is finished in no time so we use that bin to put on the garden while the first is filling up again, seems to work quite well. oh and this year i have 2 pumpking plants in the top orf the recently turned heap and they are diong well

[Thomzo]

I use the shredded paper for chook bedding.

Zoe

[Jerseymum]

wet it, use it to make fire bricks if you have no logs.
Mind you, it will need a lot of drying time and this may not be the best summer for that!
Sarah

[Thomzo]

Recycle it into handmade paper.

[Milims]

We melt old bits of candle and pour it over shredded paper in the bottom of a mould (foil pie dish typ of thing). Let it set and it makes good fire/bbq lighters

[Peggy Sue]

So how do you recycle it into hand-made paper??

[Thomzo]

A quick google and I found these instructions http://www.pioneerthinking.com/makingpaper.html

Personally I don't bother with the size but then I use mine for decorating cards rather than for writing on.

I definitely use printed computer paper. The letters show and it makes a nice feature.

Add things like tea leaves, flowers, cotton threads etc.

Zoe

[the.fee.fairy]

That reminds me, i've still got to give papermaking a go. I rescued some fine netting type stuff from an old pair of trousers a couple of weeks ago to make the frames from (i also resuced some even finer mesh silky type stuff to make another mesh for silkprinting from).
Might have a go next week when i've made the soaps.

One thing guys: If you're going to use paper as small animal bedding (i don't think chickens count, i think its just furry things), especially, rats, please please freeze it for a couple of hours before you give it to them. Otherwise, they could get lice (i know from personal experience and its not pretty!).

[Thomzo]

I give mine a good shake of louse powder for the chooks. I use too much to freeze it.

Cheers
Zoe

[the.fee.fairy]

Oh good!!

I was only using maybe half a tabloid sized paper for my rats at a time, so it was easy for me to freeze.

I always make sure i warn people after seeing my poor little boys with lice - they looked so miserable til they were better again.

[Thomzo]

Yuk - just the thought of it makes me itch.

Zoe

[digiveg]

Just a thought for those who use shredded paper - if it's white 'A4' stuff it isn't just wood fibre. It's also been bleached. Dioxins, which are one of the most toxic things we've ever invented, are a byproduct of most commercial paper-bleaching processes. Also, paper can have many kinds of coating applied, some of which contain chemicals you may not want anywhere near your garden. Last but not least, laser toner contains plastic, another thing to avoid. I haven't bothered to research the contents of inkjet inks as I will never add white paper to my veggie beds. The other info was just picked up along the way during years of working in the print industry.

So, if you add shredded white paper to your garden, you might have also added a whole lot more as well...

[Millymollymandy]

Silly question time ..... are there mites in paper? If so how come we don't get them?