Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Composting Glossy Paper

g.kingg.king Posts: 46
in Problem solving
Having a sort through old paperwork for shredding and then adding to the compost bin.
I've got a load of glossy paper items - eg Suttons Summer Plant Catalogue or the glossy junk mail (pizza, takeaways, random magazines) and was wondering if such items can be added to the compost bin.

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I don't.
    A friend owns a printing business and prints glossy mags. There's a huge amount of oil used in the process (so much that he's converted his swimming pool boiler to run off  the waste oil).

    I rarely get glossy mags, so it's not something I've really spent much time thinking about.
    The amount of cardboard that Amazon sends me is plenty!

    It will be interesting to see what others think

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Molly BloomMolly Bloom Posts: 23
    Our council prefers us NOT to put glossy paper into our recycling bins, which I think speaks volumes. I think, as Pete.8 said, it's the chemical compounds that are the problem rather than just being hard to break down in the masher. Reluctantly, I throw glossy paper in the household waste. Wish I didn't have to, but there it is...
  • borgadrborgadr Posts: 718
    If I could piggy-back on your question @g.king and take it further, I'm also interested in whether standard (shredded) letter paper is suitable for composting, I mean the kind of paper used for bills, bank statements etc. - not "glossy" but definitely has a sheen compared to say newspaper or the kind of brown paper they use to bulk up packaging.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    @borgadr yes, standard paper is fine, shredded or scrumbled.

    @g.king My understanding is that inks are now safe for composting - mostly made of soya. Back in the day, the inks and glues were not water-based and may have contained metals.  Many people think that composting printed material is still dodgy, because they missed the change over.

    I personally don't compost glossy material because it just takes too long. I daresay it would break down eventually.

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Your paper is best scrunched into balls, it gives some air space in your compost, no need to shred. 

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    ... folded cardboard pieces too give more air pockets and structure to the mix, stopping it getting too dense.
  • WilderbeastWilderbeast Posts: 1,415
    @Fire maybe I'm missing the cardboard as Mrs Wilderbeast seems to think I'm rather dense 😂
Sign In or Register to comment.