I was going to use cardboard in my garden to smother weeds and someone told me it contains toxic chemicals....is this true? I though it was just really stiff paper....
Sue Everything is toxic. Dilution is the solution to pollution. Cardboard is paper. The papers are clean enough for the food industry. The inks are likely to be the worst of the chemicals, and many inks now days are soy based to avoid the toxicity problem. The amount of ink on a piece of cardboard is not likely to be a problem. I'm not sure what glue is used to hold the paper layers together. Since most box companies produce boxes for many industries, including the food industry, they are pretty tightly controlled on what kinds of glues they can use. Most box makers print their name somewhere on the box. Most box makers are national. It is likely that you have a producer near you. If you are worried, call them. I say your risk is minimal, use them.
I'd go back to "someone" and ask "someone: to put their money where "someone's" mouth is. Tell "someone" that you want to know the exact details of such a claim. If they are going to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater, they'd better be able to also point out where the fire is. There's absolutely nothing to fear from cardboard unless it's paper cuts! Martin
:haha: :haha: Well, I am older than most of the dirt on our place (compost freaks here) and we have been using cardboard, newpaper, feed sacks and even old pieces of carpet to keep weeds down for over 50 years. I figure I've got to die of something. Probably in more danger from the run off from the lawn care products folks use than from any paper product you would ever put on your garden.
