How bad is it to use colored advertising circulars for weed control?
I would use newspaper for weed control in my flower beds, but I need them to use under litter boxes. So, is it bad for the soil or environment to use those slick colored advertising circulars that come with the newspaper? We live in the country and have a lot of birds, insects, plus a cat and dog.
Related Discussions
GNATS - How to get rid of them?
Somehow my house and garden got tiny gnats that killed my fuchsia plant and fly everywhere. I have tried ALL the Web recommendations - soap and oil dishes, sand in th... See more
Marigolds growing! Should I pinch the buds?
My marigold plants are growing. I heard that pinching the buds until Autumn will allow them to grow without killing the plant. Is this true?
Growing garlic
Growing our first garlic, should we wait until the leaves are drying out before we pick it? Husband picked first one today along with our first potatoes.
How to keep mice out of your garden?
Hi everyone, I have mice in my garden destroying my vegetables and I have also noticed them in the barn and shed. Please can someone tell me how to prevent them from ... See more
What's the best flower/plant to grow in Texas?
I know that opinions vary, but what's your opinion?!I have great luck w Rosemary plants. Green all year long.
Can someone tell me what kind of animal this was in my yard?
I thought maybe a rabbit was burrowing in my yard, but it's almost dead center of my lawn (not a very smart rabbit). The hole is not very deep, and I replanted it onc... See more
Is Creeping Charlie in your lawn a good thing or a bad thing?
Is there a sure-fire way to get rid of Creeping Charley?
Brochures and colored flyers do not have to disclose what inks are used to print them. So the ink used degrades slowly and is leached into the soil. I would error on the side of caution here. But I have used seen people use even big dog food bags cut open as a form of weed control. They used those in areas where there wasn't anything growing (like along a walkway surrounded by gravel).
The colored inks in newspapers are petroleum based. May leach into the soil but it would be minimal. The black ink is vegetable based. Newspapers take forever to break down and decompose. Back around 1990 a landfill was investigated on the decomposing process. The investigators were surprised to find newspapers from the 1951 still in good readable condition.
Check out this article.
Have you tried plain brown paper bags, or the brown paper used for packaging items to be shipped?