Newspaper in compost

Discussion in 'Soils, Fertilizers and Composting' started by infinidox, Jul 15, 2009.

  1. infinidox

    infinidox Member

    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Apologies if this has been covered a million times before, but I didn't see it after a quick search.

    I've heard that using newspaper with coloured ink is not good for composting, due to toxicity of the inks, but black ink is fine. Anyone heard anything similar?
     
  2. worldharmony

    worldharmony Active Member

    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Northeast USA
    I haven't heard that black ink is safer, nor that all news printers use the same ink. We don't compost newspaper, just in case.
     
  3. silver_creek

    silver_creek Active Member

    Messages:
    484
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    Bellingham, WA, usa
    Contact the printer of your local paper- many use soy based inks these days, even for color. This is newsprint only, not the glossy inserts.
     
  4. soccerdad

    soccerdad Active Member 10 Years

    Messages:
    515
    Likes Received:
    20
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, Dunbar area
    One can never be too careful.

    I will not buy soil unless the seller will provide a stat dec saying that the soil has been kept under glass since a month before the first Europeans arrived here: after that time, there is a chance that a bird that ate an earthworm that once chomped through polluted soil may have relieved itself while flying over the soil that is now for sale, which will therefore be carcinogenic. I believe that other posters share my concerns.
     
  5. kaspian

    kaspian Active Member 10 Years

    Messages:
    459
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Maine coast, USA, zone 5
    I took a composting class a few years ago, and the instructor (who was from the state university "master gardener" program) said essentially what infinidox posted above: that colored inks may be safe, or they may not, but that the black ink used today for newsprint is non-toxic and safe for composting. In fact, strips of newspaper were suggested as a means of adding "brown" material to the mix to balance "green" (i.e. nitrogen-rich) material, such as grass clippings.

    It's possible, I guess, that this advice is not universally applicable but based on the particular situation here in Maine.
     

Share This Page