Carbon (200-500:1). In some areas, soiled newspaper is not acceptable for municipal recycling. Contact your local solid waste department to find out.
Newspaper may be composted, but contains high amounts of carbon, so it may not be convenient to compost it in your backyard bin. Shred and soak in water before putting in backyard pile. Shredding is required because it mats easily. Be aware that there is not a lot of nutrient value in newspaper.
You can also soak in water, then shred and put into your worm bin as bedding.
Newspaper can be used under a layer of mulch which is several inches thick, or wood chip paths if there are no plants currently growing there which you want to keep. When preparing a new bed, this is a good way to get rid of a lot of weeds. The paper will keep out the light, so the weeds will not survive.
Concerns:
The information above contains recommendations usually given by Master Composters, experts and authors on composting. I have received a lot of questions about newspapers, so I am going to go into a little more detail here.
With regard to composting newspapers with black ink, I have only heard one mention of controversy. Otherwise, I have found that composting newspapers is acceptable. (As mentioned above, it is not usually recommended for use in a backyard pile because of the problems of matting, low nutrient value and slow decomposition.) The one controversial source was the book "Let It Rot" by Stu Campbell. He says that the carbon black ink contains polycyclicaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which are a known carcinogen. Stu says
"Although the jury is still out, most scientific research to date indicates that PAHs are rendered inert by the temperatures of a hot compost pile, the biological activity, and the acids in the soil. Most newspaper inks no longer contain heavy metals, and most colored newsprint now uses vegetable dyes, so as long as you don't intensively compost with newspapers you can use it as a carbon source."
With regard to newspapers, A Green Guide to Yard Care published by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission says, "Most inks today are safe for garden use." To be completely safe, call your newspaper and ask about the ink or use compost made from newspapers on non-edibles like your lawn, ornamentals, flowers, and trees, rather than your vegetable garden.
Do NOT compost advertising inserts. Ad inserts are printed by someone other than the newspaper. Most companies still print inserts with heavy metal inks, especially the glossy ones. Some colored inks have heavy metals in them which, in large quantities, are toxic to microorganisms. Small quantities such as the occasional colored ad in the newspaper have negligible effects.
With society's emphasis on recycling, most newspapers have started using
vegetable dyes for colored advertisements and the comics. (If your
newspaper uses vegetable dyes, you can compost the comics, too.)
Unfortunately, there is no way to be certain which dye they use by
looking at the printed page. To make sure, call your local
newspaper and ask them if they use vegetable dyes.
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