Can You Compost Paper? – An Amazing Composting Resource

As long as the paper is not waxy or colored or any other paper we recommend against, you are good to add shredded paper.  In fact, it’s already broken up for you.

While a small amount of bleach is used to create printer paper, you are okay to compost printer paper as long as it’s not glossy or wax covered.  The same goes with paper from notebooks or other plain white paper.

Greasy paper and cardboard do take longer to break down in the compost bin.  Some people don’t like that.  The grease acts as a coating to repel moisture.  Eventually, it will break down.

This is great when you have something like a pizza box where the greasy portion can’t be recycled.  Tear that greasy part out and add it to the compost pile.  Just remember that it may be there for a little while.    

Envelopes are generally made out of the same types of paper as other office products.  So, envelopes are usually compostable, with a few considerations. 
– You can’t compost plastic windows in envelopes.
– Don’t add wax-coated envelopes to your compost (they usually have a greasy feel to them.)
– Don’t compost glossy envelopes
– Make sure to remove any metal clasps or other non-paper parts

Most modern printer inks are non-toxic.  They’re often water soluble and use natural materials.  So, they’re usually safe to compost.

However, for some uses like glossy magazines and cardboard with a lot of coloring (e.g., cereal boxes and other packaging) the ink often has heavy metals and is toxic, so you don’t want to compost that.

The modern white paper is bleached to get that coloring.  This can be toxic in large amounts, but the amount of bleach used in modern paper typically isn’t a problem for your compost pile, and it washes out with the moisture.

You can be sure by adding a small amount of the paper you’re concerned about. Give your compost pile time and ensure it decomposes correctly without any issues.

In general, recycling is a better option if the paper is clean.  You want to ensure it doesn’t have any grease or has become soiled or wet.  In that case, compost the paper. 

Otherwise, even though recycling paper still uses a lot of resources, it uses about 28%-70% less energy and less water than virgin paper manufacturing. That is a tremendous saving with a huge benefit to the environment.  It saves trees, water, and energy.
When you can’t recycle, composting is a great second option. In some cases, you might want to do both. For example, with a pizza box, you can cut out the portion that has grease on it.  That goes in the compost pile. The rest can get recycled.

When you can’t recycle, composting is a great second option. In some cases, you might want to do both. For example, with a pizza box, you can cut out the portion that has grease on it.  That goes in the compost pile. The rest can get recycled.

Receipt paper actually isn’t usually printed on.  It’s called thermal paper because heat is used to color it.  It uses a material called BPA (bisphenol A) to react to heat.  BPA can be toxic, and you don’t want that in your compost. It’s best to avoid it.

If it’s plain paper, then yes, you can compost them.  If it’s a wax-covered paper plate, then it’s not compostable.  Basically, the cheap kinds of plates are compostable, others aren’t.

Paper bags are usually compostable.  You can compost brown paper bags and white paper bags.  Like other paper products, bags with a lot of coloring or with a wax covering are not compostable. Examples of these include gift bags. 

Yes, you can compost paper napkins. 

No, you can’t compost most cereal boxes. The inks used in common cereal boxes, which have a lot of branding and coloring, often use heavy metals or other toxic materials that can harm the organisms in your compost pile or your garden once the compost is added.

Unlike newspaper and cardboard, you do not want to compost magazines. 

Magazines typically use glossy paper, which uses plastic and other synthetic material to give it that look and feel. 
Magazines also tend to use heavy metals in their ink, which makes it toxic.

Therefore, you should not add magazines to your compost.

As stores get away from using plastic bags, we are seeing more paper bags in our life. Unfortunately, these can be difficult to reuse. If you have a good recycle program, you can normally recycle them. If those aren’t options, you can compost paper bags.

There are a few exceptions to this, which will look really familiar. Just like with other paper products, if there are any coatings or colored bags, then avoid composting them. You also need to remove any plastic or metal pieces in the bags. White and brown bags are fine. Bags covered in non-compostable materials aren’t good for your compost either. So, if that chicken leaked into your bag, best not to compost it. The animals in the area won’t know the difference between chicken and a bag that smells like chicken, they just know it smells good.

After that, composting a paper bag is very similar to posting other paper products. You want to shred it or rip it up and add it to your compost. You may want to soak it in water if your compost isn’t nice and moist. Brown materials like paper tend to soak up some of the moisture. Mix it in really well with your compost and let your compost pile do its work.

Typically, a well-shredded compostable paper bag will break down in weeks. Typically about 6-8 weeks is a good estimate.

Composting paper bags is a great alternative to throwing them into a landfill. They are easy to compost and break down well. Of course, reusing or recycling are event better given the chance.