burning junk mail for ash

Personally, I would avoid it. Especially with colour inks. That stuff might give off some rather toxic fumes while burning, and if there are any heavy metals, etc, that would still be present in the ashes.

I would suggest only burning black-print newspaper and office paper, along with wood chips/scraps, etc.

My junk mail just goes into my city recycle bin.

It's my understanding that we shouldn't burn it at all, for any reason, because of the toxins in the papers and inks (color printing). I certainly wouldn't burn paper, of any sort, just to use it for ash. It seems the environmental damage from the burning outweighs any benefit of composting. It's not quite the same as using ash from wood used for heating or cooking where we are using a byproduct of other uses. Recycling the paper through your local agencies is most preferred.

Glenna

I'm not sure I'd burn it, but it can certainly be composted (or used for mulch). The US banned heavy metals in inks years ago, and I've read from numerous sources that colored inks actually benefit the soil. Worm composting however, should not (I've read) contain colored inks.

Bubba

il Mon, 03 Jan 2005 06:03:30 -0500, Bubba ha scritto:

It's a confusing world for sure. Inks probably vary a lot and I have no idea if our inks are different from the US's I've never found paper mulch pretty to look at. The birds soon have it in tatters, then the wind takes over... I'm not sure one can even recycle the highly glossy stuff - too unlike paper. Doesn't even burn that well either but in winter sometimes a source of heat is needed :-)