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  • From: Lora Boge <loraboge@phreego.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Question
  • Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2005 23:42:17 +0000

Lora wrote:

I can corroborate on the worms too. But regarding newspaper and junk mail
flyers.
I tear my newspapers, etc. into 1-2 inch widths and the worms just munch them

right up (or they dissolve and the worms make quick work of them). From what
I've read the newspaper inks no longer contain dangerous metals (they are
supposed to be soy-based nowadays) but I don't know this from any lab tests
or anything.

But regarding office papers I'd email Xerox or Hewlett-Packard and ask them
about
their toner and make sure - because I used to be a computer tech and worked
with
copier and printer toner cartridges and we were told to be careful with
spills because
inhaling the powder was not a good idea. There are Material Data Safety
Sheets on
them, etc. and they are supposed to be recycled properly. Maybe with only 5%
ink
coverage (normal text) on the pages it wouldn't be an issue. But they ought
to
be able to tell you whether the ink is toxic in quantity or if it
accumulates.

Good thinking! I hope it works out! Maybe let me know what you find out...




Elinor Jean wrote:

> This is not quite the same but I have a friend who swears by shredded
> office paper in his worm farm. The worms love it and it doesn't seem to
> kill them.
>
> At 09:49 6.01.05, you wrote:
> >I am considering substituting shredded office paper for straw in my
> >chicken coop, which eventually gets added into the garden compost or
> >mulch. Does anyone have any experience with this or any thoughts about
> >it? Rodale's composting book describes shredded paper as a good carbon
> >(brown) source in composting but does not get into much detail about
> >different types (newspaper, magazine, white office paper). Most of my
> >paper would be typical recycled white office copy paper. There is some
> >mention by Rodale re heavy metals in the inks found on glossy prints but
> >no discussion of chlorine or dioxin issues in other papers. Any thoughts
> >or experiences with this? Thanks.
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> >permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
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>
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