To dispose of shredded paper, put small amounts in your general waste bin (red), compost it, or for larger amounts, contain it in a paper bag/box and place in your yellow bin if your council allows, otherwise use a dedicated paper recycler like Cleanaway or Recycle Mate. Check your local council's website for specific rules, as some accept it in the yellow bin when contained, while others prefer the red bin due to contamination risks at facilities.
Keep reading to discover what you can do with your shredded paper.
Most types of paper can be recycled in your yellow-lidded recycling bin. This includes: Paper. Shredded paper (must be contained within a cardboard box or large paper envelope)
Shredded paper is compostable as long as it's not colored or glossy. If you are adding a lot of shredded paper to your home compost pile, add some grass to lower the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. Shredding a piece of paper shortens its fibers, which limits its recycling potential and reduces its value.
You can put it in a paper envelope and then put it in with your household recycling. This is so that it doesn't blow around everywhere when picked up or go everywhere in the recycling facility.
Most shredded paper is of a high grade and could be recycled but the paper strips are too small and light to be separated during sorting at our material recovery facility – the large plant where recyclables are sorted and sent for re-processing.
Small amounts of shredded paper can be placed in your blue recycling bag. We recommend containing this in a paper bag or envelope. Large amount of shredded paper can be put in your brown bin or home composter.
While not accepted curbside, shredded paper can be placed in a plastic bag and dropped off directly to the Recycle Center.
Composting
Composting is an eco-friendly way to reduce kitchen and garden waste while creating nutrient-rich soil for your plants. Shredded paper can play a vital role in the composting process. It helps balance the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, provides aeration, and prevents the compost pile from becoming too compact.
Shredded paper can be placed in a CLEAR plastic bag for recycling. Make sure only to place shredded paper in the bag. This is the only time plastic bags should be used for recycling. Shredded paper should not be placed loose in your recycling bin as it can contaminate the load of recyclables.
What about shredded newsprint? Except for colored and glossy paper, which might contain some toxic heavy metals, newsprint and other paper is safe to use as mulch or in compost. In fact, one study revealed that paper had less toxic material than straw or grass!
plastic packaging bottles, bottle tops, pots, tubs, trays, clean flexible plant pots, carrier bags, bread bags, cling film and bubble wrap. glass bottles and jars (including broken glass bottles and jars) paper and card (except shredded paper, which can go in the garden bin)
To be effective, papers must soak in a plastic trash can with a water and bleach solution for a few days, then mixed together to break the documents into a pulp. Once the documents have fully disintegrated, the water will need to be pressed from the pulp before it can be disposed of.
Not only is it possible to compost shredded paper, but it's a great addition to the compost process!
In Australia, you generally can't put loose shredded paper in your yellow-lidded recycling bin as it's too small and contaminates the stream; instead, use it in your green FOGO/compost bin, put it in a paper bag or envelope before the yellow bin (check local rules!), use it as pet bedding or garden mulch, or dispose of it in the red landfill bin if other options aren't available.
For paper to decompose it takes between two and six weeks. This is relatively quick compared to other materials, but it can be two to five months before the paper completely disappears if it's disposed of in landfill.
Green waste – consists of grass, straw, hay, leaves, trimmings from perennials and annuals, as well as annual weeds that haven't set seed. Brown waste – means tree and shrub prunings (finely chopped), as well as shredded paper/card (see more on this below – “other brown waste”).
Shredded paper
How to Destroy Paper Documents without a Shredder: 6 Effective Alternatives
Soaking paper documents in water for one or two days and mixing it around is an effective way to make them unreadable. This dissolves the paper into a pulp that you can break up by hand.
By carefully incorporating shredded paper into your compost pile, you can recycle this common household waste into valuable, nutrient-rich compost for your garden. It's always best to avoid unnecessary shredding but if you need to, recycle shredded paper in a blue bin or, if it's the right type of paper, compost it.
Shredded paper can be used as mulch to suppress weeds and retain moisture in your garden.
Shredded paper
Shredded paper can be used to add stuffing to gift bags and baskets for special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, and other special occasions. It can also be used in boxes to protect fragile items for storage and/or moving purposes.