I had a yard or so of shredded copy paper and, just on a lark, I decided to dig it in to a groundcover (Oriental Jasmine) bed that was recovering from the drought two years ago. I'll probably excavate the bed in six months or so, and see what happened to it. I would suggest that you layer it with fill dirt. Otherwise the paper will just compact into something pretty impermeable. I do that digging in regularly with fall leaves in my vegetable bed, and the loam you eventually get is awesome. I probably should shred the leaves first, but I don't bother. Shredded white paper would be functional as a top mulch, I guess, but you're going to litter the whole neighborhood when the wind picks up.

Pull out a handful, what does it look like? If it looks like something you would expect to see on the forest floor, then it might be worth trying some of these other tests. Smell it, if it doesn't smell bad to you, then you could probably spread it around the garden. If you want to start seeds in it, here is another test you might want to do before trying a few test seeds. Seal a handful of the compost into a plastic bag. Seal the bag. Let it sit for three days. After three days check, if the bag has started to inflate, it may not be ready for use yet. If the bag has not inflated, smell the contents. If they smell like nice dirt, then continue to a trial of bean seeds or something. Don't worry too much about compost, it happens. The worst things that can happen if you screw up, something might smell bad and you need to add more leaves or it takes too long and you wonder why.

Hi Most newspapers have been using safe ink for a while now. I wouldn't use coloured print or the shiny stuff in the veggie garden. I have been using shredded paper for years now and it's great! I put a thin layer of the bought mulch on top in the areas where the public can see. Debbie

Problem is I can get much more shredded paper than the compost pile can eat. Currently I average about 30 to 40 large coffee filters I dig out of the used coffee grounds from a local coffee shop (the UCG goes straight on the lawn) plus a newspaper or two per week. At the end of the year there is still not enough compost to do much with on 20k square feet of lawn. I'm still trying to come up with a good option of using the shredded paper since it's 100% free but at the same time I can't spend hours and hours messing with it since my time is limited. I can purchase a mulching kit for my mower but really didn't wan't to spend $140 to mulch up paper a couple times per year. As is, the mower does a great job with the grass clippings as you rarely see any left on top of the lawn after mowing. I'll keep working at it and hopefully come up with an idea that works.