Once you have shredded your documents you are left with a by product that can be very useful in certain circumstances. It is commonly accepted that once white paper is shredded it can no longer be used to manufacturer recycled paper, the reason for this is that the shredding process shortens the fibres in the paper. The shorter fibres would cause weak spots within a recycled sheet and therefore can't be used.

It is possible to send your shredded paper for use in a cardboard recycling scheme. There are a number of local authorities that are now recommending placing shredded paper into cardboard recycling collection points. You will have to make alternative arrangements to this if your are not a householder and are producing this waste from a commercial source such as an office.

At shreddershop.com we firmly believe that the real solution for the disposal of your shredded paper is to send it for composting. It is a little known fact that shredded paper can be composted, the introduction of this material into a compost heap can help to balance out any excessive wetness present and therefore speed up the decomposing of the heap into usable compost.

It is important when putting paper shreddings into your local authority composting bins that you do not exceed 20% of the total volume of the bin. Following this guide will mean that when your bin is due to be collected it will still be emptied, failure to adhere to this guide may mean your bin is left unemptied until you remove excessive quantities of shredded paper. It is always worth calling your local authority and checking the volumes you may place in your bin.

It is important to try and ascertain if you are able to dispose of your waste to a composting site. We are in the process of putting together a list of composting sites who will accept commercially shredded paper waste. Please contact your local authorities recycling officer for more details, you can also visit the Compost Association website