I'm not a fan of paper, very little in the way of nutrients. I've composted newspaper run through a chipper/shredder (note: don't shred on a windy day) and it does diasappear quickly in a hot pile. It is a strong C so consider that when figuring out ratios.

Lloyd

..
Confetti cut office paper breaks down quickly enough but office paper means laser printers and photocopiers which use toner. If you don't mind a non-toxic plastic your compost then have at it. I use it myself.

Newspaper breaks down slower and wads up if not blended well with the rest of the ingredients. Newspaper has a higher lignin content than office paer so there's better nutrition there. Domestic newspapers tend to use soy based inks so they can get away form hazardous materials handling. I stay away from anything that may be printed overseas like color inserts.

Several sheets of newspaper makes an excellent weed block underneath mulch. It breaks down in about 6 months or so.

to sense
..

I use shredded paper in my compost and it doesn't seem to take any longer than oak leaves to break down. I don't think you can use too much in the compost if you treat it like leaves. What I mean is, you need to have the right balance of materials in order for it to break down.

I don't necessarily add it to my compost because it adds anything great to it, more for the fact of not sending it to the landfill.

Val

Has anyone tried cold composting shredded paper? Similar steps as leaf mold, except with paper: place paper in brown leaf bag, wet paper, punch a few holes, hide the bag, and harvest in 2-3 years.

I found that paper and newspaper took an incredibly long time to break down in my not-very-hot bins, so eventually I started peeing on it and that solved the problem.

Basically, I shred every kind of waste paper that comes through the house--junk mail, phone books, freebie newspapers they won't stop throwing on our driveway, paperboard cereal boxes, toilet paper rolls, old bills, you name it--and then I use that shredded paper as the "sawdust" in a pee-only sawdust toilet.

The sheer volume of pee and paper means that I'm making more compost now than I used to, and I feel like it's a win-win situation.

* Paper products go into the on-site compost bins instead of being trucked to a landfill or recycling facility
* Peeing in the no-flush bucket saves plenty of water
* The combination of the two ends up being garden-improving compost

Obviously, this solution is not for everyone, but if you're interested, here is the chapter on sawdust toilets from the Humanure Handbook. It's worked out great for our household, plus, I can't tell you how satisfying it is to pee on junk mail. :)

http://weblife.org/humanure/chapter8_2.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Humanure Handbook: Chapter 8: The Sawdust Toilet

cali1023, you seem to have a disdain for junk mail. have you completed the DMA form to reduce junk mail? it really works. and any junk mail that i get afterward, i call them up individually and ask them to place my address on their do-not-mail list.

https://www.dmachoice.org

Here is a link that might be useful: https://www.dmachoice.org

I prefer to recycle paper, esp. nice office/printer/copier paper. In recycling jargon, reusing it as paper is a 'higher and better use' of the original resource. But, in a pinch when you need browns real bad, or if you don't have access to recycling at least it keeps it out of the landfill. My 2 cents.

I like to use shredded paper in cold composting--meaning, not just paper + water but bins that don't get really hot.
I think I should be using more--but I recycle our newspapers, so mostly I compost shredded mail.

For me, it comes in handy as a "brown" because I use a lot of my other "browns"--shredded leaves, in particular--directly in the garden as mulch or in their own pile to make leaf mold. It is easier for me to manage a largish open shredded leaf pile (no varmints attracted; can turn or not as energy available) and smaller enclosed kitchen waste/browns collections in my plastic trash barrels. So I really like to combine stuff like shreds of cardboard or paper to mix with kitchen waste, since both of those types of materials need to break down and become "compost" before I add to garden.

I like to shred newspaper every once in a while and I find it disappears pretty fast. Since it is shredded, its best to let it fly, distribute it widely so it doesn't clump up.
As for can too much be too much. Certainly, anything used in a compost in amounts that defeat the balance of the pile should be avoided. Where you cant use it right away, save it in a bag for later use.
This goes especially for leaves in the fall, where it amounts to overkill of the bacteria, let it sit in the bag over winter and use it through spring and summer or put some soil and fertilizer into the bag, punch finger holes, and let the bag sit.
I suppose if you have that much newspaper, it could also go into the bag.

I have curbside recycle pick up for newspapers, so I don't compost them.

I do compost most of my junk mail, mainly because I need browns in the summer, and it keeps it out of hte landfill. IMO shredded paper decomposes faster than straw, but not as fast as shredded leaves.

..
I'm pretty much with Frankie on this.

I use a lot of shredded paper from the office. It's going to get chucked anyways and once shredded it doesn't recycle very well. Can't beat it for easy storage.
..

zard, that's interesting. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before. Have you done it?

annpat, no, i have not, but i will try soon. i generate more shredded paper than i know what to do. i'm going to stick the bag in a far corner of my backyard just in case it turns into smelly gook.

Sorry if I'm late to the conversation. I use shredded black and white newspaper pages as worm bedding. I haven't emptied my bin yet so I don't know how long it will take/ took to break down.

:)

I took the liberty of going to the Ink Jet Super Store web page and filing a complaint with customer service regarding their idiot from the Phillipines who is spamming our compost forum. I also informed them that no one here would ever buy one of their stupid cartridges if our lives depended upon it. It is probably useless, but it felt good. :-D