How to Compost Shredded Paper
Composting is a great way to participate in recycling. You can reuse things like horse manure and kitchen scraps when you compost. You can also save your grass clippings and raked leaves and use them in a compost pile. One item you may not think about adding to your compost pile is paper. Paper without a glossy finish or colored ink can actually be shredded and added to a compost pile to increase the carbon content. It is important that you do not add too much, however, or the compost pile will take longer to be ready for use as a fertilizer. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Composting barrel
- Shredded newspaper
- Kitchen scraps
- Grass clippings
- Water
- Fertilizer
- Soil
Instructions
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Purchase and set up a composting barrel in a convenient location. For example, you can set up the barrel near the kitchen door to make it easier to throw daily food scraps in, or you can set it up near the vegetable garden you plan on using the finished compost in. Composting barrels are great because they make it easy to turn the ingredients inside the barrel to speed up the decomposition process.
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Cover the bottom of your composting barrel with a layer of organic materials. This includes your shredded paper. You should also include kitchen scraps and grass clippings so that your bottom layer is not entirely made out of paper. Too much paper will slow down the composting process.
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Water your organic materials until they are moist.
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Collect manure from a horse, chicken, pig, or cow and add it to your compost bin as the second layer. If you don't have any of those animals on your property, you can contact a farmer and ask for some manure. Of course, manure is sold at garden centers if you need to purchase it. This is your layer of fertilizer.
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Water your fertilizer until it is moist like your layer of organic materials.
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Top the compost bin off with a layer of soil. Any type of soil will do. According to the University of Missouri Extension, soil contains microorganisms that are needed in the decomposition process.
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Water your layer of soil until moist.
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Turn your composting barrel several times to mix the three layers together. Repeat once per week, adding more water when the compost begins to dry out. You want to keep it moist. Turning once per week will speed up the decomposition process so you can use your finished compost sooner.
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Tips & Warnings
Your paper can be added without shredding, but this would slow down the rate at which the ingredients decompose.
Dairy products and meat products should not be used in a composting barrel.
References
- Photo Credit Paper shredder image by patrimonio designs from Fotolia.com
