Paper Tape Biodegradable?

I’m in the very beginning stages of sheet composting my garden. I’m covering the whole area with cardboard, and I usually take all the tape and stickers off. However, I have recently been getting this paper tape reinforced with some sort of string. It is REALLY hard to get off all the way. But it got me thinking, would the tape and string just break down eventually?

I am very suspicious of the reinforced tape as, to my mind, the string feels very similar to dental floss (often made from nylon). I am also suspicious about the adhesives used to back the tape as many modern glues are made from polymers (which include oil-based plastics) and their biodegradation is, at best, uncertain. To be on the safe side, I remove all tape and postal labels from cardboard when I sheet mulch with it.

I do not have a solid answer for you outside of having used old amazon boxes (paper tape) to put down under mulch without issues.  I have come across a decent amount of cardboard with glossy coatings that leaves behind plastic (I know better now) but I do not believe I've seen any strings left behind.  I did find this on the internet suggesting that the reinforcement is made of fiberglass.  https://inbound.betterpackages.com/blog/heavy-packages-paper-packing-tape-has-strength-you-need

I really really dislike the reinforced paper tape. It almost seems the worst of both worlds when you reuse cardboard boxes as sheet mulch as I do. I did a little duck duck search and found this nice site: thriving yard which suggests that the fibres are compostable, but may take a longer time. Any sort of durable string can be dangerous to wildlife as it gets used as nesting materials and caught on limbs. I always pick it all off, usually cursing as I do so!

Some of the tape is reinforced with fiberglass.  It even survives a trip through the woodstove.  That said, not sure if it would hurt anything.  We try to remove any tape before using cardboard in the garden, but we invariably miss some.  I did notice some recent Amazon packages are coming with plastic tape vs the paper tape used in the past.

Interesting! I never would have thought fiberglass. I’ve found the string is relatively easy to get out, so I was able to get to most of that. To be safe I have been removing as much as I can, but not sweating it a whole ton of there is still some on there.

I'm leaving this tape on cardboard that I am putting down now. It's not in a garden area, so the trick will be for me to make sure I can locate it again in a year,