Why I finally gave up on cardboard for my compost bin after reading one stat

I always thought cardboard was fine for composting. Then I saw a fact from the EPA that said paper and cardboard make up about 23% of landfill waste, and most of it doesn't break down because it's buried without oxygen. That really surprised me. So now I only put food scraps and yard waste in my pile and send cardboard to the recycling bin instead. Has anyone else found a better way to handle all those shipping boxes from Amazon?

2 comments

2 Comments

evaperez2mo ago

Wait, wait... so all those boxes I've been ripping up and tossing in my pile are basically just sitting there rotting slower than they would in a landfill? That's wild, I never thought about the oxygen thing.

lisa_brown2mo ago

Totally agree, that stat really hits hard. I had the same wake up call when I realized how much cardboard just sits in landfills instead of actually decomposing. It feels good to know we're making a smarter choice now, even if it means figuring out a different system for those endless Amazon boxes.