Shredded paper in garden recycling

[oimissus]

Is it possible to put shredded paper in the garden recycling? We?re having a big clear out and our normal recycling is going to get overwhelmed by this (and I don?t have any paper bags or envelopes to put it in anyway).

I know my dad always put shredded paper into his compost heap but I also know Southwark have some funny rules about this kind of thing.

TIA

[DulwichFox]

I put my Shredded paper in small strong paper bags (From my Take away Deliveries) and put it to my BLUE bin

with other paper... Cardboard ... Tins... Bottles. etc.

I Staple the bag up so it does not spill.

Foxy

[Penguin68]

Shredded paper is a good addition to your own garden compost, but is not I think accepted in the green garden waste recycling bins (though it probably should be!). I have put it in my Blue recycling and no one's complained.

[Nigello]

I read recently that shredded paper is not to go in recycling bins for paper, card, etc. because it somehow affects the quality of the otherwise good paper products in the mix. The source - a green living page on Instagram - says adding it to compost (your own bin, not municipal ones) is advised instead.

[heartblock]

I put shredded in my small hotbin, but not anything shiny as I believe that is a plastic coating?

[mynamehere]

Brown cardboard should be allowed in brown bins?. Why isn?t it?. Worms love it composts to top grade

[ianr]

Current Southwark rules on garden waste say "only for organic waste which can be composted". https://www.southwark.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/garden-waste-collection-subscriptions

[heartblock]

Organic 'relating to or derived from living matter' well that's paper and cardboard, so they should be more specific..

[malumbu]

It shouldn't go into your recycled waste bin as the machines don't like it - something about sipping through the gaps when the paper is being processed. I put load of brown cardboard, tissues (which shouldn't go into recycling) and my personal papers into the compost bin. There should be a fair amount of this sort of stuff in there anyway. If you leave paper in the garden for a couple of weeks you will see how much the snails and slugs like it.

[oimissus]

Thanks all - no real consensus, and of course the Southwark website isn?t very helpful. I?ve not shredded anything other than paper (ie nothing coated or plasticized - that would be the death of my feeble shredder if nothing else - so it is just paper, made from wood.

[Otto2]

There are various chemicals used in paper production - probably not ideal.

[legalalien]

As Southwark say you can put shredded paper in your home compost bin (listed as an organic material) it makes sense they?d collect it in the brown bin

https://www.southwark.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/food-and-garden-waste/compost-at-home. But as the bin collectors probably don?t consult the Southwark website on this, probably best to ask them..

(Incidentally it says on that site you can buy a home compost bin from Southwark or get a free one if you are a community group or school, which I didn?t know).