To avoid cardboard waste, cardboard can usually be composted. Over 30 percent of waste in landfills across the country is cardboard waste.
Is cardboard brown or green compost?
Cardboard is a brown compost component. It will help to balance out nitrogen-rich (green) ingredients such as kitchen scraps and manure by adding structure and carbon to your compost pile.
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How do you compost your cardboard?
Before anything, you need shred the cardboard for compost. Then, follow the following steps:
First, spray the cardboard and paper sheets with water before laying them down. Second, cover it with a 2 inch (5 cm) layer of soil. Third, top with a layer of greens, followed by a layer of browns.
Last, arrange the layers in the pattern shown above. The fertiliser will be ready in a few months or a year.
This method does not require aeration, and the moisture level is only affected when dampening the first layer of cardboard and paper.
In conclusion, composting is simply layering brown materials followed by green materials in that pattern and then waiting for nature to do its thing. As a result, the end result is rewarding and worthwhile.
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What are the things that I can compost?
Compostable materials include organic kitchen waste, garden waste, and unprocessed natural materials (wood, cellulose fibres, wool and compostable packaging).
Paper, paperboard, fiberboard, and corrugated cardboard boxes without plastic laminates are examples of environmentally friendly materials.
These are compostable because they are made of all-natural materials that decompose organically.
They will degrade naturally over time into nutrient-rich humus, producing no greenhouse gases and leaving no traces of toxic chemicals.
You can use your compost as a fertiliser for your garden after composting.
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What is the proper ratio of green to brown waste?
Everyone’s compost bin is unique because we all put in different amounts of green and brown waste. You must balance based on what you put in, not on some arbitrary ratio or percentage.
For instance, a man with three children and a wife who eats a lot of fruits and vegetables, will have a lot of scraps.
They will generate a lot of green waste. The fruit and vegetable waste also becomes very wet, so they put them in a fair amount of brown waste to keep the compost bin from becoming too soggy or drenched.
They shred cardboard, scrap paper, and gather twigs wherever they can. In essence, if you have a large garden with a lot of prunings,
you may need to save some to get a lower ratio. You don’t want the compost bin to get too dry and run out of green waste.
Conclusion
Compost is often referred to as black gold by gardeners and landscapers due to its high nutrient content and ability to rejuvenate plants, grass, vegetables, trees, and other plants.
Compost can be used in a variety of ways, including flower beds and plant beds, as well as to enrich your lawn.
Compost is an excellent soil amendment for difficult or unhealthy soil. Compost can help you fix soil beds that have too much sand, too much clay, or the incorrect pH balance.
