Four categories to pick from on the 'Composting' of Staples Debate:
#1.) "No. No, man. Shit, no, man. I believe you'd get your ass kicked doin' something like that, man."
b.) "Yes, Staples have what plants crave."
iii.) "It's not that I'm Lazy, it's that I just don't care."
๐ฉ.) "Wait, people here compost staples on purpose?"
by ICY_8008135
35 Comments
iii
I mean I dont think it hurts the soil or plants, but it can hurt you when youre digging in the dirt later. I try to avoid them, but if one made it in, its not the end of the world
Ah yes, rusty staples, the fast track to tetanus.
Considering iron is one of the most common ekements in soil, it seems like an over-reaction.
The little tiny ones in tea bags aren’t going to hurt you and will rust to nothing pretty quick in a compost pile.
I would make some effort to get those giant copper plated ones they use for big cardboard boxes out, but ultimately it’s not going to hurt the plants, but maybe those big ones could last long enough to be a bit of a hazard to bare hands digging through the pile/dirt amended with the compost.
I would certainly aim to remove as many as possible & actively NOT use them in a tumbler or other closed container system but in a large, open enclosure system I could see it not being a big deal. Theyโll likely fall to the lower parts of the compost & break down a good bit while giving some trace components to the compost. Use gloves if you know there are metals present. If chocolate can have some flies, compost can have some staples. I wonder if putting some larger, easily findable magnets in the compost could help pull the staples & other metals to a concentrated area.
Iโm not purposely putting big chunks of metal in my compostโฆbut a standard office staple or one from a tea bag isnโt something Iโm going to worry about.
People are siting injury riskโฆbut I assume weโre talking aboutโusedโ staplesโฆ.aka already bent so not pointy.
Cardboard I’ll pull them out, but tea bags and other small stuff, not worth my effort/they’ll rust and breakdown pretty quickly and it’s not going to hurt the plants.
I remove them from things I put in my paper-shredder (for obvious reasons, they would royally fuck it up if they got sent through ๐)
I try and get them out of other stuff I add, but the occasional staple makes it way in from the odd teabag or some such.
I did, however, manage to completely jump the shark last summer when I didn’t realize that stapling together the sections of cardboard I used as bin-insulation was the worst possible choice for that particular task, as my pile devoured errrrrthing and with it ALL OF THE FUCKING STAPLES WERE IRREVOCABLY INCORPORATED.
So yes, now my compost blend is a hearty source of iron (rust) and I devised another way of affixing sheets of cardboard to the inside walls of my hoop bin this autumn.
And now I am always sure to wear gloves whilst handling it ๐
Oh my god I’m Staples Georg……
Staples = itโll compost eventually.
Teabags = oh hell no, microplastics.
iii
Remove. Just like stickers on fruit. It’s pretty easy.
I mean unless you are eating your compost is wouldn’t be worried. I personally remove them but i dont see the harm in not.
If we are talking Staples from a tea bag, im more concerned with the microplastics from the tea bag. If we are talking a box of unused staples uuuunnghhhhh plant crave Fe ๐คค
Itโs got electrolytes
I burn the paper compost everything else.
I’d rather have metal than plastic in my compost pile, however I would try to avoid them both altogether. If metal accidentally made its way into my compost, so be it. If plastic accidentally made its way into my compost, I will rage.
I put staples from shredded paper and paper coated twist ties from veggies in the pile. The staples disappear, and the metal from the twist ties reappear eaten clean when I turn the pile; and are easy to remove and recycle.
I also don’t sweat over labels on peels that I’ve removed (e.g., banana, etc.). They reappear too and are easy to remove.
I’m not saying I try to put these things in my compost, just that I don’t make an effort not too. They show up occasionally in my finished compost and are easy to remove. My goal is to compost, and I’m on the lazy side. So I don’t make things any more difficult than required. I’ve been composting for 40+ years and it works for me.
I mean this sincerely so I hope you donโt take it the wrong way. If you find yourself getting so annoyed by other people not picking the staples out of their compost that you feel compelled to make a whole weird post about it, please consider logging off of Reddit for a while.ย
Currently watching this movie
itโs just metal dude
I figure if a staple makes its way into my compost it’s rather harmless and will eventually sink into the dirt. I’m more worried about plastic
If it used to be alive, you can compost it. All my staples are made from the refined blood of my enemies or malevolent android parts.
I’m a mix of b, iii, and ๐ฉ.
No, they mean the shop, Staples. You have to get it quite hot, but after a couple of years you’ll have the good shit, man.
Tea bags with staples go right into the compost here, and have for years.
If they are steel they’ll rust out eventually adding iron to your compost which plants absolutely crave in small amounts
But have you tried adding Gatorade? It has electrolytes.
I remember when tea bags used staples! That’s a blast from the past!
I like that you got called out for a comment in another post and so you made a meme about it. You said staples are made of โzinc and chromium,โ which is all the evidence anyone needs to know youโre using google AI for your information. Staples are made of iron with a coating of zinc. Zinc is a necessary element for plant growth and chromium is only used in stainless steel. The only way you got that confused is because you relied on an AI to amalgamate the information incorrectly.
Steel is biodegradable is it not?
The percentage of a stable in a teabag is quite low. The percentage of a teabag amidst all other stuff you compost is even lower. Staple is iron. Iron in soil is not dangerous. No problem whatsoever. Unless you try to compost just staples. Then it does not work.
If I notice a staple in cardboard or something I want to add I just remove it and throw it away, just like tape and stickers. None of the tea I buy uses staples so I add the whole bag along with my coffee grounds. I don’t think it would hurt my compost, but I’ve already had to get a tetanus shot from getting cut by metal in the garden once and I’d rather not have to do that again lol.
This is an AI post
We use paper and cardboard as bedding for pigs and cows because of the ammonia the staples often rust away before the paper decomposes