On Sun, 1 Jun 2003 13:44:42 +0100, "Drakanthus"
wrote:


I'm a bit wary what goes into my compost bin now. There are so many
carcinogenic or toxic chemicals used in manufacturing. As the years go by,
more and more chemicals are found to be harmful even in trace quantities.
You just might find out you are adding poison to the soil - as I did. I used
to regularly put waste sawdust into my compost from various jobs involving
pressure treated timber, only to find out later that the active ingredient
is based upon Arsenic. I don't put ANY man made products into my compost
now.

Just of a related note. Strictly speaking all cutting of timber should
be done before the treatment so if the shavings were from a timber
firm then they *in theory* should be clean. The only commercial outlet
in the uk for wood shavings is the pet business and a little
chipboard. Also, if it was pressure treated it may have been from an
organic based treatment rather than CCA (copper chrome arsenic) as
CCA`s are generally dipped.

I have to agree tho that if your in any doubt about the source of the
shavings do NOT put them in.

Some good news on the horizon is that CCA is being removed from use
comercially as the europeans dont like the arsenic. However, they seem
to like using heavy metals instead so untill it all gets nice and
organic (Roof truss manufacturers use organic as the heavy metals
corrode the plates) then only put shavings that have been in a pet bed
on the compost heap.