Types

• Made from biodegradable wood stock, most kinds of paper make a prime addition to your compost bin, including newspaper, magazines, catalogs, office paper, napkins, paper towels, paper cups, coffee filters and cardboard. As a safety precaution, avoid putting photographs and extremely glossy magazine paper in your compost bin. These types of papers are more likely to contain heavy-metal-based inks, and they generally take much longer to decompose than other types of paper-based organic waste.
  
  

Features

• Most paper products typically have a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio between 200:1 and 500:1, says Barbara Pleasant, co-author of "The Complete Compost Gardening Guide." Adding these paper products to your compost pile gives the composting microorganisms carbon, which provides them with energy necessary for the decomposition process. The paper also helps minimize potential odor problems in your compost heap by absorbing excess moisture. Properly added to your compost bin, paper acts as a bulking agent, which helps hold the waste particles apart and allows oxygen to flow more freely in your compost. Paper products are generally considered safe for composting because they typically contain very low levels of chemical substances that could contaminate compost, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
  
  

Method

• Careful material preparation is the key to composting paper properly. Shred, cut or tear all paper products into 2-inch strips or pieces. This speeds up the composting process by cutting down on the amount of decomposition that needs to take place. Dampening the paper with a gentle spray of water also helps encourage more rapid decomposition. As a rule, make sure paper and other sources of carbon (dry, brown waste like straw, dead leaves and sawdust) don't make up more than one-half to three-fourths of the volume of waste in your compost heap or bin; the rest should come from nitrogen-heavy waste like cow manure or grass clippings. Once you've built your heap or filled your bin, mix the compost waste on a weekly basis and keep it as wet as a wrung-out sponge to produce finished compost more quickly.
  
  

Considerations

• If you typically have a lot of waste paper in your home, consider separating it into two groups -- one for recycling and one for composting. This helps keep you from getting overwhelmed by the amount of paper waste that needs to be composted. Newspapers, magazines and flattened cardboard boxes typically make welcome additions to most community recycling centers. Extremely crumpled or torn paper, as well as soiled paper like napkins, paper plates, paper cups and paper towels, can go straight to your compost bin.