Putting cardboard in a compost heap

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Tigs33
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Joined: Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:33 am
Location: Essex

Hi everybody,

I am new here and this is my first post :D

I know you can put cardboard in a compost heap but I would like to know if cereal boxes (wheetabix and the like) are ok to put in a compost heap bearing in mind that they are printed on one side.

Any advice or guidence would be appreciated.

Thanks!
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richard p
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Location: Somerset UK

personaly i only use unprinted cardboard and eggboxes. havent a clue whats in the ink but probably something undesirable especially coloured inks.
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Tigs33
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Joined: Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:33 am
Location: Essex

Do you think it would be ok if I only used that compost with printed cardboard boxes on my flowers/shrubs??
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mazmezroz
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Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2005 5:09 pm
Location: North Cotswolds

Welcome! Everyone will be very helpful and very insulting in equal quanitities!!!! No, really, v. useful forum and lots of interesting chat and advice. Re: cardboard, tend to agree, things like egg boxes and 'rough' cardboard are OK, but I wouldn't put cereal boxes on cosof ink and glossiness.
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Tigs33
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Joined: Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:33 am
Location: Essex

Hi Mazmezroz, thanks for the reply. I have been reading this forum for about a week now and I have found it very interesting.

I have been vegetable gardening now for about 5 years, although I am a very laid back in my approach to gardening. I have got two raised beds at the bottom of my garden and I really enjoy it.

Here is a picture of them :)

Image
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Guest

Bung it all in its ok. There is probally more poison in the seral than the box.
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Tigger
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I've been putting cereal boxes in my compost for over 20 years, as I have the paper labels from plant purchases, envelopes (stamps removed for guide dogs first) newspapers with colour photos, junk mail, etc.
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Rubberman
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Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 1:14 pm
Location: Wiltshire

Don't worry too much about the glossy finish on cardboard - it's clay based so it is quite compatable with gardening. As for the inks, it probably depends on just how "O" (shhh!) you want to be, but as far as I can tell, most cardboard is fine for composting unless it's waxed, which some frozen food packaging is.
Just think of it as getting a very small amount of compost free with your cereal!
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Carole B.
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Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2005 3:36 pm
Location: Isle of Wight

Hi Tigs33,be careful what you put in your heap,I tried composting printed cardboard last year and lots of the packets have a thin,hidden,plastic layer,probably the frozen food packs.I have spent a lot of this spring picking out strips of flapping plastic everytime I get a bucket of compost.It was not obvious when I ripped them up to put them in.
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Chris
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Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 8:26 pm
Location: Moray, Scotland

Hi Tiggs33

Welcome to the Forum. I'm impressed by the photo - my first thought was the potential you have there for more beds instead of the grass and the second was that I like the cold frame. I've been digging beds from an old grass area during the last year but have used only 4 inch high boards to help reduce the need for watering.

Hope the season goes well

Chris
Chris
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mazmezroz
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Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2005 5:09 pm
Location: North Cotswolds

Well, Tiggs, your garden's raised beds look fab, and I also think your cold frame is great. Warning - a few weeks on this forum and you will be wanting to expand your vegetable content in your garden! When I started I had just taken over one allotment. Now I have 1 and threequarters - and we're looking to move house specifically cos I want more space at home to grow me veggies!

:P
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Laurie, Old severn bridge
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Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 1:04 pm

hey, I e mailed your question to tesco about a month ago worried about toxins in the paint of some of their cardboard after 5 unsatisfactory answers they got there in the end with "if its got the recycling symbol on it then its safe to use, three arrows in a circle......good luck
later; Laurie Old severn bridge
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dave

This question keeps coming up.

The Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth researched this some years ago (when inks were probably lesss benign than they are now).
They found that even the slurry produced when de-inking paper/card during the recycling process had less harmful stuff in it than normal soil, so basically you're OK.

You'll find the paper if you google around- sorry, not got time now myself

cheers

Dave
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Guest

Bloke on my site puts his old jeans in his compost the oly bits that dont compost are the zip and pockets (so they must be nylon).
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Allan
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Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2005 5:21 am
Location: Hereford

Stretching the subject a bit more we put cardboard in but not too shiny, also most envelopes but for some reason the transparent windows on business envelopes are not biodegradeable and have to be removed first. Why can't EC insist on biodegradeable windows?
We like to shred first wherever possible.
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