Can paper bags be composted without shredding?

Best Answer

Yes, they are considered %26quot;brown%26quot; matter. I%26#039;ve used whole paper bags for lining the bottom of my compost bin and occasionally inbetween layers. They will compost a little faster if they are shreaded but it doesn%26#039;t make that big of a difference.

Another good way to use whole paper bags is to cut them open and lay them flat across the area where you intend to place a garden. Then just add the soil and and plants and mulch on top. By the time the bags have decomposed all of the grass and weeds underneath will be dead! avid gardener and composter!

Asker's Rating:

I want to use them to line my compost bucket so I don%26#039;t have to scrub it down every day. Thanks for the advice!

Other Answers (9)

• Yes
  Actually they are better to place in the garden than newspaper because they are thicker and don%26#039;t decompose as quickly. Keeps weeds down longer.
  Shredding will help them break down faster but then again you are using/wasting energy that the shredder requires to operate. Just tear them with your hands instead...........
• Yes, but it will take a little bit longer.
  
  Don%26#039;t have an obvious way to easily shred them? How about this one: get a group of young kids, 2-8 years old...maybe even older, and ask them to have fun tearing them up. Let them throw the torn up pieces at each other and such. after they are done, mow them. The bag being torn up will make it easier on the mower, and the kids will have fun making a mess. If your mower is a bagging mower, your pretty much done. If not, then you will need to rake the shredded pieces up.
• Yes,I use them in and around flower beds,I cover over the bags with more dirt or pine bark, this also helps control weeds.You can also put them under small pieces of wood to make worm beds,have to keep wet though...
• you don%26#039;t compost paper only like foods and stuff but you can put you might wanna cut it up so there is no stuff in spots so no you might not wanna go without shredding it smart
• Sure, but it will take a lot longer for them to break down.
• Takes about 100,000 million years
• tear them up first so that it will compose better and faster....
• yer... just leave them to rot on your compost heap
• yes