Question about shredded paper

Hi,
I am always looking for sources of organic matter to add to our garden, and I have been trying to make use of shredded paper and cardboard for a while.
What I have learned is that in my climate it does not decompose easily. Using it as mulch is not a good idea, as the paper is rather ugly, and eventually forms a non permeable layer.
The best solution I've found is adding some shredded paper to the compost bin. The compost bin preserves humidity much better than the compost pile or the composting bath tub.
When adding shredded paper to the composting bath tub, everything dries out too fast and the compost takes longer to make. It is worth noting that sometimes we run out of water, so watering our compost piles is not always doable, even when we remember to do so.
Adding kitchen scraps somehow prevents the paper to compact.
I don't think I am promoting much fungal activity, since the bin has to be shaked weekly for preventing rotting smells, but maybe some extra funghi might be there, and the amount of finished compost is higher, so I can amend more soil with it.

So far so good, but now I have stockpiled too much paper, and my colleages are starting to complain about it.
For starters, I've doubled the amount of shredded paper I add to the compost bin, and it looks like it is still composting properly. But the paper pile is too big and I need a faster method to deal with it, preferably in a way that our soil can benefit.
Any ideas?

It probably depends a lot on what sort of paper you are using. Is it white paper like office paper? I think that tends to have surfacing layers like clay on it, which may be why it is compacting in your garden. Newspaper and brown paper are less likely to have that issue.
I'm wondering whether it could be used as a base for fungi growing? I know people have used toilet rolls for that, but am not sure if the better quality papers will be good for fungi.

Abraham, I've been through the exact same thing. I have access to a large amount of office paper through my husband's work. I've tried shredding it and using it as mulch and it's just like you say- in the dry season it doesn't decompose, when it's wet it makes this matted barrier that is snail heaven.
I ultimately decided to only keep enough to use as rabbit bedding, and the soiled bedding goes into the bokashi/manure compost pile, where it breaks down enough. I send the rest off to recycling (here it goes back into paper manufacturing, becomes toilet paper).
Cardboard is even worse-- occasionally i'll use it to kill grass in a fallow area or to step on in a walkway between beds, but when stored it attracts cockroaches, especially, which in turn attracts scorpions, snakes, and all types of other vermin. It's hard to shred. If I had the time and inclination I might rip up/soak/blend the cardboard and try using it somehow that way directly on the soil or compost like a slurry, but I frankly have much easier sources of carbon around, probably with fewer contaminants involved.

I feel that if I was trying to compost shredded paper, I would add some dirt to the mix every so often and maybe more green manure like fresh-cut grass and veggie scraps.

As Tereza suggested shredded paper can be used as animal bedding.

Shredded paper can also be used as parking for mailing packages, burning it in an RMH or a wood stove, and it is good for craft projects like paper mache.

Hi Abraham,

It sounds like you have quite an accumulation of paper and my go-to volume reduction method for organic matter is burning it. Specifically to create biochar that can be used as a soil amendment. Granted, I don't think it would have the same benefits as biochar made from wood but regardless it would still create a useful soil amendment.

I also agree with Nancy in that it could be an excellent fungal medium. Wetted and compacted in growing bags it could provide a nice substrate for a few edible species, but you would probably want to start with a very adaptable species like Oyster. Moreover, since Oyster is a tough species it will be able to handle any chemicals in the ink or paper itself. It is one of the best species used for mycoremediation, and the fruiting bodies it produces are still considered edible. However, whether or not you want to eat them yourself is something you should decide for yourself. After a few flushes of mushrooms, the partially decomposed substrate will be significantly more amendable to decomposition and garden use.
Hope this helps,

Eric S.

Anne Miller wrote:I feel that if I was trying to compost shredded paper, I would add some dirt to the mix every so often and maybe more green manure like fresh-cut grass and veggie scraps.

As Tereza suggested shredded paper can be used as animal bedding.

Shredded paper can also be used as parking for mailing packages, burning it in an RMH or a wood stove, and it is good for craft projects like paper mache.

Yes! That's it!

Adding dirt and some water I could process more shredded paper at a time. Mixing dirt could prevent the cardboard effect and help retaining water. The bin might be too small though. I could also add it to the potting substrate mix.

The other options are quite difficult for me, I cannot have animals, and I can't provide constant moisture for the funghi. And making biochar requires more water than I can afford to waste.
Thank you all for your ideas!

I am putting your idea into practice.

Yesterday I mixed in one bucket: a small bag of clayey dirt from the terrain, a small bag of compost and a big bag of shredded paper, with enough water to make it muddy.
I need to be very conservative with water, so that's why I am testing this in a bucket. The idea is to keep it moist until the paper becomes something else. I read that composting cellulose requires some extra nitrogen. I was considering using urine, but since this is shared garden in a public and very visible place, logistics would be complicated, so I used half-finished compost instead.

It was a bit of work, figuring how much dirt to add. I was adding in small quantities, wetting and mixing until I liked the muddy-sponge texture. When it is finished, I plan to use it for pots, since I expect it to work like pot substrate. Now the pile of paper is still big, but if this works well, I'd just use more buckets.

Perhaps starting a few worm bins could help use up the paper? Shredded paper is often used as a bedding source for new worm bins.

I know a little bit about this. office paper, cardboard, newspaper, old phone books, needs lots of nitrogen rich "hot" stuff like chicken manure to compost well. but when composted it is light and fluffy and for me grew fantastic squash, pumpkins, Mellons. it was done with truckloads of "recycled" paper goods piled mountain high and spread out over acres.
the stuff that was mixed well with enough "hot" organics was very good. but without the other things to mix with paper newspapers could just about still be read 20 years later.

That's what I do. I collect the big bags of shredded paper from our main office and use it for my primary source of worm bedding. Works good.

Hey guys, thanks for your input, but I think you are missing the key point about what Anne proposed.
My biggest issue is water. It's hard for me to compost the usual way.

Usually the problem with clay is that it doesn't get wet easily when it is completely dry, but it holds moisture pretty well.
The problem composting paper is that it gets dry too fast and requires constant irrigation, but unless it is completely dried, it absorbs water fast.
Mixing both elements should solve both issues. It just may be a little short on nitrogen for proper composting.

At least, that's the theory. I'll let you know how it works for me.

While I have not put it into practice, I have heard mentioned rather frequently that worms love to chew on shredded paper. If you ever had an interest in starting a worm farm, you could turn that paper into worm castings.

I've been using shredded paper for two years now, and it is just working fine.
I use it for two purposes. When I'm collecting kitchen scraps at home, even if I have my bucket outside, it helps a lot to use shredded paper to avoid bad smells, and some bugs. It not only dries the bucket a little bit, but also holds fermentation still.
Then I pour the contents into the large bin in the garden and mix it with the aerator. The balance with carbon-nitrogen-water-air is just right from the beginning. The resulting compost is soft and nice. If the chemicals of the pen ink are doing anything wrong, I'm not noticing it.