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- Greener Thumb
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wax paper
I know that paper can be composted, so what about wax paper? I'm thinking NO to wax paper. I'm wondering what the experts say.
- rainbowgardener
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- Greener Thumb
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- Greener Thumb
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I'm pretty sure that the wax part of wax paper is a petroleum product. I have decided to compost wax paper. I don't use very much of it. I was trying to figure out an easy way to compost my coffee grounds and fruit peelings, etc, that I collect while at work. I don't like putting compostables in with regular garbage, which is the only choice I have at work. So what I do is I wrap the compostables in wax paper and then throw it on the compost pile when I get home. It simplfies the transport from work to home, making it easier and less messy.
- rainbowgardener
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Probably works - let us know if you find waxed paper in with your finished compost in the spring!
The other alternative would be just some kind of tupperware or other container that you carry back and forth.
I used to just keep a 2 gallon bucket with tight lid under my kitchen sink to collect compostables until they went out to the pile. In my new house, there isn't room for that. So we have a tupperware that sits by the sink to collect them until they go to the bucket in the garage. The tupperware gets emptied into the bucket and (washed out) twice a day. The bucket gets emptied into the compost pile once or twice a week.
Either way, it is wonderful that you take the trouble to bring your compostables home. Lots of people would just throw them in trash.
The other alternative would be just some kind of tupperware or other container that you carry back and forth.
I used to just keep a 2 gallon bucket with tight lid under my kitchen sink to collect compostables until they went out to the pile. In my new house, there isn't room for that. So we have a tupperware that sits by the sink to collect them until they go to the bucket in the garage. The tupperware gets emptied into the bucket and (washed out) twice a day. The bucket gets emptied into the compost pile once or twice a week.
Either way, it is wonderful that you take the trouble to bring your compostables home. Lots of people would just throw them in trash.
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- Greener Thumb
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- Greener Thumb
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The wax used in wax paper is food grade paraffin wax, which is just a certain class of hydrocarbons that are nontoxic. Similar to what is used to wax fruits and vegetables. The fact that it is petroleum based isn't really important, because chemically, it's not a health hazard to people or to compost. The wax itself will not really break down very fast but since it is spread thin on the paper, it's not like putting a hunk of wax into the compost. I haven't tried it, I'm just speaking as an env. chemist and composter.
BTW any scrap candle wax at our house is saved up in a coffee can and melted down to make new candles. Some people offer it on Freecycle or Craigslist free section if they don't make candles themselves.
Both my wife and I have compost operations going at work. We use a gallon ice cream bucket with a handle and snap lid, next to the coffee stations. They're labeled "Used Coffee Grounds and Filters for Composting". The bucket goes home with you whenever you want, and replace it with a clean empty spare. Works quite well.
BTW any scrap candle wax at our house is saved up in a coffee can and melted down to make new candles. Some people offer it on Freecycle or Craigslist free section if they don't make candles themselves.
Both my wife and I have compost operations going at work. We use a gallon ice cream bucket with a handle and snap lid, next to the coffee stations. They're labeled "Used Coffee Grounds and Filters for Composting". The bucket goes home with you whenever you want, and replace it with a clean empty spare. Works quite well.
- rainbowgardener
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