"Drakanthus" wrote in message
...
A bit O.T. but I always wondered why we are not supposed to put
enveloppes
in the paper recycling containers. The only reason I can think of is the
glue on them, but surely a glossy magazine contains as much as an
enveloppe?

Many thanks

Gogo

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.

--
Drakanthus.


(Spam filter: Include the word VB anywhere in the subject line or emails
will never reach me.)



But isn't it true to say rubarb leaves are poisonous and Green Potatos
contain Oxalyic acid, and various weeds and garden plants contain pretty
nasty chemicals within them, Rue etc, these are all usually placed on the
compost heap.
I confess I do not know how much arsenic garden plants, or veggies might
pick up from the soil, or indeed exactly how much arsenic would be in
treated timber shavings. I do however tend to think that it's not something
I would worry about overly much, simply because the levels are likely to be
so low after all the composting, digging, and growing is done that it's
probably neglible. You'd probably absorb much more heavy metals and
deangerous chemicals from sitting in a traffic jam for 5 minutes than you
could get from the garden veggies.
Also I grow comfrey, specifically to add to waterbutts and compost heaps,
and this is grown because it's roots go down so far that it brings up all
sorts of things from the subsoil, at least that's what I'd been told. Also
partly the reason why green leafy veggies contain lots of calcium.
This is just my opinion of course but then I guess that's partly what this
forums for.

Anyway, In general I think far too much emphasis is placed of reducing
relatively trivial risks when we could be addressing much more serious
problems such as road traffic, and heart disease.

Sorry rant over, such as it was, and no offence meant to anyone.
Duncan