Bleached and Colored Paper
A customer asked about the dangers of white office paper and colored/shiny sheets in worm bins.
Those are mostly obsolete concerns.
Bleaching paper pulp was a source of Dioxin a persistent carcinogen. It’s a byproduct of reacting chlorines and lignin. This information came out in the 1980s when science was finally catching up to the amazing chemicals our grand parents invented in the 40s and 50s. The EPA and manufactures adjusted the processes to stop that. Sadly, Dioxin is so persistent and accumulates in fatty tissues, so we will be exposed in the best of foods forever. Since our worms eat cardboard, coir, compost and food scraps, they probably have less exposure than we do.
Chemicals in inks were mostly heavy metals that gave color (like lead that makes a nice white) or VOCs (volatile organic compounds such as benzines) that evaporate quickly. Unfortunately, the convenience of those inks and solvents came with a heavy cost to our health. Did you know that lead tasted sweet, That is why kids were eating it in paint chips. It was poor kid candy.
Our lawsuit society (whatever your opinion about lawyers and the ‘nanny’ culture) has reduced these contaminants to around background levels. As you hand your child the bright yellow box of Cheerios at breakfast, I want you to imagine there is still anything hazardous in that ink. That company would be sued into oblivion. The stress of worrying about those chemical risks may be a greater current hazard.
Waxy papers have the colored ink problem already mentioned and they are slow to compost. The shiny gloss is water resistant which slows the microbes down. Shiny ink is often used on denser cardboard (such as those cereal boxes) which also composts slower. Colorful bits can show up in the finished compost. Those undigested bits make cautious folks worried. I’ve been at this vermicomposting thing long enough to know the worms will get to those pretty specks soon enough, they ate the most of it already.
We could talk about toner and micro-plastics, but I live with my uninformed concerns about that new worry. I’ll look into it deeper, but I expect the concerns will be a cautiously exaggerated something the laser printer industry is working on. Time will tell, if I survive.