In article ,
Martin Brown wrote:
michael adams wrote:


One point about the paper used in teabags is that it's designed
to withstand being immersed in boiling water, and then left to soak
in liquid more or leass indefinitely, without disintegrating.

But it still rots away in my compost heap. I think it may depend on how
hot the heap gets, but the inside of mine will eat most things at 70C.

And mine - and I run a 'cool' heap. The missing item of information
is that lignin is broken down only by fungi, and cellulose only by
fairly specialised bacteria, and they both take longer than breaking
down sugars, starches etc. If a heap is either too wet or too dry,
those materials will last for a long time - and if there isn't a
fairly large supply of other cellulose, there won't be many of the
relevant bacteria.

I suspect if they stay too dry and cool the will last almost
indefinitely but in the right environment they vanish...
(as do quite big chunks of hedge trimmings)

No, cool and fairly dry is fine. I am pretty sure that the reason
you and I have no trouble is indicated by your last remark. If
you put things like hedge trimmings on, there will be plenty of
cellulose-digesting bacteria, and they will simply move on to the
teabags.

I am trying a new, enclosed, heap for actual woody material, as I
had a lot of it, and will see how that goes. But that is more for
the actual lignin, which is very durable.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.