Composting newspapers

Yesterday's news can become tommorrows rich growing medium for your garden when its composted. Newspaper breaks down quickly and fully inside a good compost bin and adds vital carbon necessary for the decomposition process. 

Along with cardboard, straw, woodchip, dried leaves and other "brown" materials, newspaper helps keep the balance of your compost heap correct.

"Brown" (carbon-rich) and "green" (nitrogen-rich) materials mixed together in a 50:50 ratio makes the best compost.  So newspaper added in the right ratio is important to get some of the carbon necessary for a healthy compost heap.

So top tips from our experts at Shropshire Master Composters are:  - 

- Shred or tear the newspaper into ~2cm-wide strips.  (Alternatively you can scrunch it up into balls, this just increases the surface area which helps it compost)

- Dont worry about shiny or glossy magazines being included - you can compost these too - no problem.

- Combine the newspaper with a mix of 'green' material too e.g. grass cuttings

- Mix the material together with a garden fork once the bin is filled. (Turning the heap over in this way is optional but it does speed up the process and help ensure everything rots down more fully).

For more tips like this visit www.homecomposting.org.ukwww.homecomposting.org.uk