| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Bazil |
Percentage of Cardboard in compost?I have been told that up to 40% of what you compost can be made up of cardboard and then I was told by some "expert" that the percentage is closer to 90%, this includes kitchen roll paper, toilet rolls, corrugated cardboard etc, pretty much everything that doesn't have a plastic coating.I'm peeling off plastic coatings where I can and putting as much as I can in. |
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| ele |
Re: Percentage of Cardboard in compost?
blimey that's dedication ! 
I hate having to bin cereal boxes etc as we have no local cardboard recycling facilities here 
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| culpepper |
thats interesting,we've usually had to throw cardboard away as there isnt any recycling for it here. It'll go in the compost from now on.I wonder if you didn't peel off the plastic coating,wether it would just come away from the cardboard anyway so it could be picked out when digging it out. | ||||
| Bazil |
The plastic would come away and end up in the compost ready to pick out like you say (at least I am 99% sure, anyone confirm this?).
I'm putting our nappies in ours as they are very bio-degradable ones, I shall wait till everything is well rotted before I sift out any plastic that may end up in there 
I am also going to rip up and throw in an old yellow pages |
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| Lozzie |
What types of cardboard have plastic coating, please? I mean, apart from Tetrapak stuff, of course.
I just rip it up and throw it all in. |
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| Bazil |
Kellogs packets
Magazine covers any laminated shiny cardboard basically. Shove it all in, as long as there isn't anything nasty in there it should rot down ready for sifting through at the end. |
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| ele |
did a quick google and it seems like cereal boxes are fine for composting, and I've been binning them all these years assuming they wouldn't be 
Also apparantly you can...
that'll amuse the neighbours 
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| sean |
Especially if you pop next door and do it in their garden. | ||||
| Lozzie |
I am all in favour of downsizer activities that mortify stuffy neighbours, as I spend a great deal of time doing exactly that.
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| ross |
The Centre for Alternative Technology have done research into the best ingredients for compost and they recommend 2 parts 'browns' (cardboard,straw etc) to 1 part 'greens' (weeds,manure,food waste etc).
www.cat.org.uk Most regulars here will know of the CAT no doubt, but for those who haven't, it makes for a great day out in North Wales. |
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| Bazil |
I went there as a child
Going there on Monday as I have the week off, so taking the wife and sprogs. I'll remember 2 parts to 1 green  thanks.
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| ross |
enjoy! the food in the restaurant is great as well. | ||||
| dougal |
Green/Brown
It depends. How "brown", how "green". The thing you are trying to achieve is a Carbon to Nitrogen ratio of about 30:1 Things are called "green" if they are richer in Nitrogen than the ideal ratio - for example, grass cuttings are about 20:1 and called "brown" if they are richer in Carbon than the ideal ratio - for example Leaves come out about 60:1 That means that 2 bags of grass cuttings mixed with 1 bag of leaves will give you a ratio of 33:1 - pretty close to the ideal. HOWEVER, newspaper generally has *much* more carbon and less nitrogen than leaves (it might be from 50:1 to 200:1) if we say its 120:1 then we only want *half* a bag of paper to go with our 2 bags of grass... Fresh sawdust or wood shreddings can be up to 600:1 so you really don't want very much of that... Cardboard? its going to be a similar composition to paper, isn't it? And not *all* "greens" are green in colour - for example coffee grounds are about 20:1 so they are as "green" as grass cuttings! If you have an excess of "brown", you can compensate with seriously Nitrogen-rich additions, like urine, Comfrey and seaweed... Even if your heap isn't close to the ideal ratio, it'll still rot down eventually, it'll just take longer. |
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| puffedpride |
In keeping with this thread, please can you folks advise me on the viability of composting at the nursing home I work at.
There would be very little garden waste, a daily helping of raw veg peelings for 10 people, absolutely loads of tea bags, and absolutely loads of blue paper hand towels. And hardly anything else. (We could add shredded printer paper documents too, but would this be advisable? Would such a heap be well-balanced enough to properly compost? Would it require much management? |
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| dpack |
compost good .... rats need an explanation .. | ||||
| ele |
I reckon you should easily get some good compost out of that, so long as the paper towels weren't too dry, i.e. you might need to wet the mix from time to time. |
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| Lozzie |
Yes indeed, although the soggy tea-bags might help make the mixture wet. This is a similar mix to what a lot of schools have in their compost bins - works pretty well there! | ||||
| puffedpride |
Thanks for feedback.
Will take advice from another thread to put wire mesh under the bin to deter rats. Would such compost be OK for veg growing? Reason I ask is because of uniformity of contents - ie loads of paper towels all dyed blue, and likewise with tea bags - isn't there some plastic compound in the 'paper' of the bags? I have just tried to save my own small heap (mostly kitchen waste and a little garden waste)at home from death by squishy disgustingness. Built a ramshackle bin from reclaimed materials to replace the too-small plastic bin for more space and better aeration/access. Am now emergency feeding stips of thin cardboard. Is this the most effective remedy? Would never have guessed composting could get so complicated!!! |
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| sally_in_wales |
If its really soggy then scrunched up card might be better, as it will hold airpockets whilst it starts to break down. I absolutely have to be brave and look at mine, I have a slimy bucket of peelings outside the back door that got rained on and forgotton that I need to get in there without getting covered! | ||||
| puffedpride |
Thanks for that.............great news! I don't have to spend tedious time tearing cardboard into strips now. | ||||
| dougal |
Teabags: They are better punctured/ripped open (to allow the 'leaves' to be distributed). And yes the 'paper' takes lots longer to decompose.
Coffee grounds are a good addition. They actually count as "green stuff" for the proportions. (As does urine...) Any cut flowers that are finished with. Same for fruit (but don't overdo the citrus peel). Any grass cuttings at all will be a very valuable addition - especially when *mixed* well in. Those blue paper wipes. I dunno what the blue colour is (or how permanent it might be). I dunno what you are wiping up (generally human wastes aren't good for simple compost). And I dunno what may have been added to give the wipes better "wet strength". Maybe you could enquire of the supplier or manufacturer? I'm sure you wouldn't be the first to ask! If you don't get enough proportion of "green" (nitrogenous) stuff in there, it'll rot *much* more slowly and may go stinky and slimey if its short of air as well. I would bang on about the usefulness of insulating a small heap, but for the fact that my own needs a better insulated lid...
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| Little Acorn |
Another useful thing to add to the compost mix is crushed up egg shells. | ||||
| oddballdave |
I lay cardboard on the ground to prevent weeds. Leave it for six months, walk on it, then dig it in.
Works for me. |
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| dpack |
my heap is only a few months old and contains a mix of weed roots ,seeds , green stuff, card paper etc . it is a clearing land type heap , activated with my mixture .it is not complete yet when it is i will leave it for the summer and use it next spring .
mixture is made by putting chicken and horsre manure ,blood fish bones ,bones , snails ,slugs,nettles and comfrey into a barrel filling it up with water and letting it ferment .diluted it is a great liquid feed and compost acellerant (it works on manureheaps as well) weed free compost is quicker as there are no weeds to kill .my last heap had a 3 month cycle in summer and longer in winter |
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| Andy B |
If i use a shreder on things like bills and credit card statements. Can i then use it as bedding for the chickens and then put it into the compost ? Or are their things in the ink or paper that would cause problems? | ||||
| judith |
I don't think there is anything in the paper that would harm the birds. I did try this for a while, but have now gone back to shavings. I find that the type of paper just isn't absorbent enough and the little shreds of paper blow about all over the place. |
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| Andy B |
Thanks ! |
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| Penelope Anderson |
Little Acorn - crushed up egg shells bring RATS!!! (lesson learnt the hard way)
I put newspaper and old blankets sometimes in my compost, both rot down beautifully. The blanket starts off on the top as insulation, and when the edges get rotted I just add the whole thing in. Has to be balanced with kitchen waste, grass etc etc. I'm sure I've said this before - different thread - anyway sorry to bore......... |