Topic: composting shiny paper

[sawfish]

I'm wondering if I can compost all the shiny leaflets and booklets I get with magazines, such as gardeners world?

[betula]

All the books say not.Presume it does not rot down well??

[star]

I don't put shiny paper in my compost. I believe there are a lot more chemicals used to make the shiny stuff, it does take a lot longer to rot down as well :)

[kt.]

I don't. Cereal boxes and loo rolls mostly, but never shiny paper.

[woppa30]

I would imagine it would compost eventually, especially if its had a trip through a shredder to increase the surface area. A good soak in water will help as well.
I take all the shredded paper from work and mix it with my compost heap. I do have to make sure it just doesn't form a big wad of damp paper but I am trying to mix the heap up frequently so that all helps. A good mix of green and brown items makes the worms and bugs happy....

[Robert_Brenchley]

Traditionally the shine is down to kaolin (china clay) in the mix, but I bet they add other things as well. Kaolin is inert and quite harmless; it's also used widely as a food additive.

[twinkletoes]

I do that too woppa30 - take shredded paper home from work to put in with the compost.  Works a treat.
Twinkletoes

[Mr Smith]

The shine you see on paper for example 'envelope paper' is put there by being manufactured on an 'MG' paper machine,  china clay is indeed used in the paper industry,

[jesssands]

when I emptied mine the other day, it didn't like the aquafresh boxes I had put in, they were covered in a shiny coating and did not break down hardly at all.

[Mr Smith]

Jessands,
              More than likely that could be a thin vinyl coating on the carton which is at the end of the day a plastic :)

[aromatic]

 :-\  I personally would not compost the shiny paper. I use loo rolls, cardboard etc for the browns for my composters... The shiny paper I put in my recycling boxes for our fortnightly recycling collection via our local council.

[jennym]

Sounds like shiny paper may one of those things we don't think about - looks good but isn't good if you know what I mean. Especially if its coated with vinyl?

But I did a bit if reading about the processes involved in making paper, and there's something called calendering (I think) which seems to be a sort of rolling polishing process, which also can make the paper shiny. I wish I knew more, perhaps Mr.Smith can fill us in on what "shiny" paper is not coated with plastics?

[Mr Smith]

Jennm,
         The shine what you get on paper like envelope paper is put there by the paper going round a very big steel cylinder drum and a series of calender reels, I would say that a paper with a shine on it would  take a while to break down over newsprint,  :)