Compost pile and "treated wood"

Can I make the walls for my compost pile from "green treated" or "wolmanized" wood. Or would the wood leech dangerous chemicals into the compost?

Reply to
Ignoramus15011
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I would strongly suggest using untreated wood (cedar, spruce, redwood) or another material, plastic etc, if you are constructing a composter. Most likely you don't want your compost contaminated with arsenic; you can now find non-CCA treated wood on the market, but even that contains high levels of copper, which you probably don't want leaching into your compost either. Copper is needed by plants in small amounts, but when it builds up in the soil it can cause disease like symptoms in plants; arsenic is toxic to humans and stunts the growth of plants, and in CCA it is paired with chromium, which can cause liver damage.

Regards - krnntp

Ignoramus15011 wrote:

Reply to
KR

Conditions around a compost pile are ideal for leaching out much of the wood preservative into the compost. You really don't want the toxic metals in compost or the soil as a result.

Reply to
Beecrofter

This issue is controversial. When I was researching it, I sought the most independent voices I could find - i.e. not the organic crowd or the wood industry crowd, but the Extension departments of major Universities. Many of them have studied this issue extensively and there are many studies published.

In general, *small* amounts of CCA do leach mostly in the first few years, after which it trails off to almost nothing. BUT no studes I visited showed any significant uptake by plants if the soils are kept PH balanced between 6.0 and 8.0 - which is the range most plants require anyway. In such soils, the small amounts of CCA that did leach remained bound to the soil particles and unavailabe for uptake by plants. Only highly acid soils showed a tendency for the CCA to become ubound and freely available for uptake.... and then only for certain plants - mostly root stocks.

Michael

Reply to
Michael Burr

While I agree that conditions in such an area are ripe for decay, CCA cannot 'leach' out of pressure treated lumber.

Dave

Reply to
David J Bockman

redwood) or another material, plastic etc, if you are constructing a composter. Most likely you don't want your compost contaminated with arsenic; you can now find non-CCA treated wood on the market, but even that contains high levels of copper, which you probably don't want leaching into your compost either. Copper is needed by plants in small amounts, but when it builds up in the soil it can cause disease like symptoms in plants; arsenic is toxic to humans and stunts the growth of plants, and in CCA it is paired with chromium, which can cause liver damage.

Reply to
Dave

I bought a flexible plastic compost bin at a local "Earth Day" affair five years ago. The material is about 2mm and quite flexible. It came rolled up but when you take off the tape, it forms a circle about five feet in diameter three+ feet tall. There are holes punched along the two short ends and stainless steel bolts and nuts came with it: just fasten the four little bolts and you have the circle ready to go. The best part is when you want to turn the pile: you can simply lift the lift the circle up and set it next to the file. The pile generally keeps its shape and you just go at it with a pitch fork and toss the stuff back into the now empty bin.

I don't know where to get this product and haven't really looked much. If anyone knows a supplier, I would buy another one.

Bill

Reply to
Bill

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