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bzarzosa

Shredding cardboard??

bzarzosa
15 years ago

Can anyone suggest an easy way to shred cardboard for bedding in a worm bin? I visited a commercial worm operation a couple of months ago and they use a wood chipper. I don't have a wood chipper and I'm not nearly that large of an "operation" to warrant a wood chipper.

Last time I sat in front of the TV with old boxes and a pair of scissors. My hands ached for day afterwards. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks.

Comments (7)

  • squeeze
    15 years ago

    lay it flat on a wood surface and use a utility knife to slice strips off, then rip them up .... cutting with the corrugations is easiest, but across the corrugations will make pieces easier to rip .... doesn't need to be pretty, if it's just small enough pieces to get in the bin then the wetness will do it in pretty quick, it's hard to keep wet cardboard in one piece

    Bill

  • ColesvilleEd
    15 years ago

    We have a paper shredder from OfficeMax that I run all our pizza boxes through. Just have to tear them into pieces narrow enough to feed into shredder. It's not a cross-cut model, so I get long strips.

    My worm "bin" is a large terra cotta planter the landlord left behind. I've got it on a small balcony off the kitchen, it gets afternoon sun but is protected somewhat by the wall and the thick terra cotta. I feed them a blender slurry which I pour into a hole in the cardboard layer and cover back over with the cardboard.

    By the time we have more pizza boxes to shred, the old ones are pretty much incorporated. Only problem is fungus gnats, I keep a piece of screen over the top to hold down the swarm. Eventually I plan to put a tree or shrub in there and start another one.

  • betho
    15 years ago

    Check into seeing if you have any local box manufacturers, also. I lucked out - my husband works at a box factory and regularly brings home huge bags of shreds about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch thick. They are perfect, perfect PERFECT for my worms and I know any box factory would have them available for the taking.

    As far as shredding existing cardboard, I'd probably get a heavy duty paper shredder and use that. I've done the scissors method and I just ended up with a sore hand and way less cardboard than the work was worth!

  • hipgardener
    15 years ago

    When I was still worming with bins, I would use a paper shredder as has been mentioned. The paper shredder was weak and the strips were cut around 2 inches wide so that the shredder would not bind up. I didn't have too have much cardboard for the two bins I ran, so I wouldn't have to shred boxes but once a month or so.

    I must say that the resulting shredded material was very nice, just the right size and it would stay moist well once started out. The worms dug it too.

    Here is a link that might be useful: www.gardeninginconverse.com (my garden blog)

  • worldcomposting
    15 years ago

    I sat down over a few nights and just used a utility knife while watching TV. Granted my hand did get a little sore after the third night I found that I made quick work of most boxes.

    A shredder large enough to take the cardboard should work fine as well.

  • varnos
    15 years ago

    I believe this is answered at length in another thread, but I bought an 11 sheet paper shredder from ebay for around $26 including shipping. It slows with corrugated, but I have shredded many, many boxes that way. I also filled my first bin by simpling tearing up old boxes, and it gets old real quickly. I am quite content with my diamond cut shredder. Our local Wal Mart has 10 sheet shredders for around $49.