Composting shredded paper
Areawide. Looking for an alternate way to dispose of your shredded paper? Try composting.
The county Department of Public Works' Environmental Programs Division website says shredded paper is one of several "brown materials" needed in the process of turning organic materials into a soil amendment.
Other brown material items include wood chips and sawdust, shredded yard wastes, pine and fir needles, straw and hay, dry grass and leaves, nut shells, and stale bread.
Also needed is an equal mix of green materials such as fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and filters, tea leaves and bags, grass clippings, garden trimmings, green leaves, and livestock manure.
The county offers hands-on instruction in composting through its Smart Gardening workshops for beginners at 11 centers throughout the county, including Columbia Park in Torrance and the South Coast Botanic Garden on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Upcoming workshops include one May 15 at the South Coast Botanic Garden (an $8 entrance fee applies) and June 5 at the Veterans Memorial Building in Culver City.
The workshops also cover worm composting, grass cycling and water- and fire-wise gardening.
Visit www.ladpw.org/epd/sg/index.cfm for more information.