Compost newspaper

I have a six foot pile of newspapers to get rid of. Rather than take them to the tip I would like to make them into compost, but I do not have enough other material to mix them with. Any ideas how I can do a crash compost/rot of newspapers, basically, on their own.

 

according to the HDRA -

Paper products
Newspaper can be added to a compost heap, but in any quantity it should go for recycling into more paper. Cardboard, paper towels and other paper items can be scrumpled up and composted. They are particularly useful where kitchen scraps make up a high proportion of the compost ingredients. Avoid glossy paper and colour print.

So - who am I to contradict them? :rolleyes:

To be honest I can't see how you could - you'd have to shred it up somehow, and mix it with something, even if it was to dig it inot the soil... I can't see how it would be possible without other things - sorry, Peter!

 

One garden-related way to reuse rather than recycle might be to make some papercrete troughs and containers for the garden Peter.

http://mackeybooks.com/make_a_trough.html

 

I can just see you doing this with all that newspaper, Peter! Particularly remembering to wear the rubber gloves..... :D What a pity my kids are all grown up - they'd have loved that, Dave!

 

We shred any newspapers we get in our machine then take it to our allotment to add to the compost bins,though we do have other material to mix it with.It soon rots down and turns into lovely compost for the garden or allotment

 

Thank you both for your comments. I am going to have to think about this. Its too easy to take it to the dump. I always like to find a solution. Perhaps its time for an experiment - treating several sacks of paper in a differant way. Or perhaps I will just have to eat more - to get the kitchin waste to add to it. :D

 

Thank you too Kandyfloss - your post appeared whilst I was composing mine. I am sure that I will manage to add it to bags of compost. There should be a lot of stuff to cut down soon, and by using bin bags you can have a lot of them. It doesn't really matter how long it takes to compost, as long as you have space to keep it.

I think I am getting quite mean now, I keep seeing it as a big pile of compost, and all my friends are telling me to throw it away. Nooooooo...

 

Thank goodness for paper bins! We used to have giant covered slips (I think that is what they are called) up until a couple of years ago, then when they were done away with, everyone was given a really giant blue garbage can with lid on wheels (about 480 l size)to put paper and cardboard in. It is collected once a month, ours is being picked up tomorrow morning. I do use the old newspapers to wrap kitchen waste in before putting it in our (smaller) green bio garbage can on wheels.

Now that I think of it, years ago a "new idea" came out where you shredded old newspaper up and soaked it in water, then put it in some gadget and squeezed it into a block. Of course, you had to let this dry out and then you used it as fuel. Hubby and I bought one of these gadgets and recycled our newspaper for some time. I think we finally gave up as it was such a messy job.

 

Kedi,one of my friends still has one of those gadgets.She got hers I think from Wiggly Wigglers.She still makes the bricks and when they havedried out ,uses them in her open fire,to start it off

 

trouble is, Peter has such a quantity - I can't see him sitting there doing what you have to with that much!! Nor turning it all into nice troughs!!

I think you have to take it in manageable amounts, Peter! A bit like "Bite-size" - have you come across that? It's to do with trying to spoon-feed kids GCSE / SEG level subjects, when we used to expect them just to get on with it.... Sorry - disgruntled ex-teacher in me again! :rolleyes:

 

BTW - we have big blue bins here too, KG! They're for paper, cardboard, tins and plastic bottles. Brown is for compostable stuff, but NO FOOD!! Green is for all the rest.

It's different all over the UK - what's it like in Germany - does each Land do its own thing or is it a federal issue?

 

is it safe to compost newspaper? I tend to recycly it instead because I worry about the chemicals in the ink. I normally only compost brown cardboard.

 

What I can't figure out is how Dave ended up with a 6'pile of newspapers. He must be incredibly well informed. I for one am impressed!

 

I found this on a gardening site about using paper and cardboard under a mulch it seems to use up a lot of paper and was called the lasagna method
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What I'd recommend is layer the area with 7-10 layers of newspaper because it does decompose faster than cardboard & you mentioned you'd like to see results fast. Then, on top of the newspaper put a layer of the manure you have, a little peat layer, another manure layer, & then top with the top soil you have. Make each layer 3-4" thick & you should be fine except for the peat...use just a little of that. Then, come fall...run over a bunch of your leaves with the mower and spread them on top of the area to complete your lasagna.
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I was told by the NT conservation warden here that cardboard attracts worms as they love the fish glue inside the layers.

 

sounds really interesting, Lapod! So all Peter has to do is find the manure and peat (substitute!!!!) and he's away!!

Interesting about the worms and fish-glue....