I spent 25 bucks at walmart for a 6page cross cut paper shredder. Model is wm675xb. I pre tear up my boxes and slowly feed pieces into the unit. Anytime it runs for a couple of minutes without cool down the unit shuts off for a bit until it cools, and after doing that once I have not done again. Now I tear a couple of pieces and feed, tear a couple more and feed...seems to time out just right and no overheat at all.

I keep thinking a paper cutter doing cardboard will burn out really quickly. You don't think so?

How long does it take to shred, oh, a 4' x 4' piece of cardboard? Thanks a million for the feedback! This is driving me nuts at night when I try to go to sleep. I can't stop thinking about finding a solutions. ;D

Three comments:

1) I burned out my 6 sheet paper shredder shredding cardboard. An 8 or 10 sheet shredder will be less likely to burn out.

2) Freecycle is a great way to get rid of large cardboard boxes. People who are moving are eager to take them.

3) a 4 x 4 sheet of cardboard can be shredded in less than a minute. Hand tear it into pieces about 6 inches wide, and feed each piece into the shredder. Narrower pieces are less likely to burn out the shredder.

I break down cardboard boxes and either:

1. lay on garden trails and cover with mulch (weed barrier), or

2. pile up on the ground during damp months and easily tear apart and shred by hand. I do not worry about glue loss.

I'm getting a shredder! I went a little crazy and got a bigger model, but thanks for the idea, kids. I'm so excited. :D

I use a utility knife to slice boxes into strips then cross cut them with heavy kitchen shears. Sometimes I wish I had a paper cutter but then think about all the clutter around myhouse and don't want to add more.

It took me about 15 mins to cut all the cardboard from the boxes our kitchen cabinets came in into strips. That was about ten boxes each larger than an assembled cabinet box.

Corrugated cardboard does not have to be finely shredded to work in vermicomposting. I hand-tear to something around 4" square and toss it in.

Liquor boxes and their inserts make especially easy hand tearing.

Please specify your definitions of cardboard. I think a six sheet shredder is not shreding my definition of cardboard which is corrigated cardboard but more like card stock or paper board which is what cereal boxes are made of. I do not think a six sheet shredder can shred any cardboard boxes, only paperboard cereal boxes.

The highest use needs to be thought of for each waste product. Or if you own the item then your highest need use for the product counts the most. If cardboard originated in America as opposed to suspect cardboard from overseas that could of been sprayed with anything for long term sea transit. Not having a lot of upper body strength I would in a large bin soak each side of the cardboard in as little as a quarter inch of water in a container. Or spray with water. Use time not strength. This method uses time not energy to do the work. Soggy cardboard is easiy torn. The water with the glue is soaked up by that last piece of cardboard or poured over the bin.

The best use of cardboard might be for walk ways.

In My Non Humble Opinion cardboard should not be soaked and the water put in the sewer. Nor should vegetables be drained of water to be put into the sewer and the dehydrated vegetables void of vitamins and good stuff but only the cellulose shell then fed to the worms.

But I could easily be wrong and wholeheartely agree with the next poster or two who might easily shoot huge holes in my argument.

I so agree with those already "half torn" box insert dividers for many items as great stuff. If one has lots of boxes, recycle the boxes but keep the dividers for the good guys.

And please tell me that no wormers ever leave their damp cardboard coasters behind while there are chlldren... ok worms starving at home.

At some point the cost of the shredder needs to be considered in the calculations of value of the product. Are $300 worth of shredders being used up to produce $500 worth of product? For a prized hobby no expense is too much, even thousands to get that perfect, judged ribbon. For a self sustaining business maybe.

equinox, my definition of cardboard is corrugated. They seem to eat that with a lot more gusto than plain simple cardboard panels. From what I read, the glue does give more nutrients.

I don't want to throw out that good water either. I freeze things briefly to break it down, and if the bin won't take the water, I use it on the garden or in the tumbler. Agree with your Not So Humble Opinion!

mr_yan and colin3, alas! I can't tear wet cardboard anymore, even though I did several gallons last week. But no more. Even wet it just hurts too much later that night. Arthritis. Doesn't hurt when I do it, but I pay the price later. After that last venture, I decided the price was just too high. ;)

Secret Tip: Don't get old!!!

Follow-up Tip: IGNORE previous tip. DO get old, because the alternative is no fun! And I'm still having lots of it.

My six sheet cross cut does shred cardboard, both cereal boxes(easy) and thicker corrugated (more difficult). The trick is not to overheat the machine, as it is not really designed for more than six sheets of paper. Most of my boxes come from amazon where I do a lot of online shopping. I still tear the box into pieces that the machine can handle and try to only feed a little at a time, have had no problems.

Before I was cutting the cardboard by hand for use as bedding for my worm bin and as brown material for my composters in the yard. I found it to be very tedious and my hand would eventually cramp. The small investment, for me, of twenty five dollars is well worth the months I have been able to just feed in and have perfect shredded cardboard and paper.

bluedood: You are the one that inspired me to get the (stronger) shredder. I suspect I'll enjoy doing it slowly, watching it accumulate. Hoping I don't burn too much energy, but hey.

equinox: My pleasure in the worms IS worth the investment. You're right. I get plenty of "happy" just watching them live, grow, and make compost.

But are you seriously telling me that we import CARDBOARD? Even that? Even our packing material comes from overseas?????

No wonder our economy is in failure. Good grief. That's insanity.

For the record, yes, a 6 sheet shredder will shred corrugated cardboard, but, as has been pointed out, you need to be careful not to overwork the machine. Hand tear the cardboard into narrow pieces before feeding it into the machine. Mine eventually burned out. My 8 sheet shredder eats up anything I feed it.

And, no, we don't import cardboard. We import goods packaged in cardboard. We actually export cardboard. All that cardboard you send to the recycler is baled, put on a ship and sent to China to be recycled. Chinese goods are packaged in boxes made of that recycled cardboard and sent to the US.

yes, yes, yes ... where they spend time at sea in huge shipping containers. To prevent the spread of bugs the boxes are sometimes sprayed with whatever is allowed in China to protect the goods. I have heard of this in relation to wooden furniture. The vermicomposter determined something bad for their worms was in the cardboard from some new wood furniture. Pallets also could of held chemicals. 99 percent of the time the past history of cardboard and pallets would not be of importance. I only mention it for those who want to be ultra no chemicals ever. If the corrigated box says Mom's Spaghetti Sauce I would use it. If it says rat poison in Chinese with a picuture of a dead rat in a crossed out red circle I would not.

Lordy, lordy, lordy, what a fine mess we've made of the world. No politics here, I know, but with all the shipping back and forth, and poisons for doing just about anything, we're lucky to still be here.

Not sure that will be the truth down the road. Sometimes it's good to be getting older. I hope I won't be here to see it.

But history shows that greed, time and time again, brings down--awwww, never mind!

Re: mention of imported cardboard - it’s not that we import cardboard, it’s that we import so much stuff that is shipped in cardboard. I had a restaurant supply house and 90% of our merchandise was coming from China (one reason I retired). Every time my employees had to offload a large number of boxes of flatware or dinnerware I made them immediately wash their hands and faces. There was a definite odor similar to powdered pesticides all over the boxes. Since insects are drawn to cardboard I am sure that it was pesticide residue. I would never use Imported cardboard boxes in my compost pile or worm boxes.

I have a fellowes w11c shredder for my cardboard shred. I have shredded large cardboard boxes with this and it hardly slows down if at all, but they do have to be cut down to small enough to enter the slot. WILL NOT shred heavy duty cardboard as those wont fit thru the slot opening anyway.

I have a Royal shredder I bought from Sam's club. I put out a couple of videos on them (see below).

I had a cheap MailMate shredder from Staples that did okay but eventually broke. The Royal Shredder I have had for one a year and it can take thick corrugated cardboard no problem.

I also originally shredded paper by hand but found this to be to time consuming and eventually my hands started to hurt after hours of doing this.

Initial video:

Update on the Shredder (about 1 year):

I use Shredded Corrugated Cardboard exclusively as bedding. I have a 12-sheet, strip-cut shredder for cardboard. A machine lasts me about 3 years. I'm on my 3rd shredder. If cardboard is too thick to go through the feed slot, then just separate the layers until it fits. I always look for clean cardboard to shred, without colored printing. For shredding small stuff, the bin that comes with the shredder is enough,. But for our purposes, it's not. I store shredded cardboard in XXXXL size, heavy-duty, garden waste plastic bags. Find a large, heavy-duty cardboard box about the size of the bag you're going to store the stuff in. Fold the flaps closed on one end and place that end on the floor. Now you have a collapsible frame to hold your collection bag. Place the bag inside and fold some of the open end over the top. Now you need something to hold the shredder head. A simple rectangular-shaped holder can be made from scrap wood or angle iron, or aluminum. Two long pieces, long enough to fit across and rest upon the cardboard box and two shorter pieces, connecting them. The shredder head fits on top. The opening only has to be big enough for the exit slot of the shredder. The shredded cardboard/paper goes straight into the collection bag. When you're done, remove the head and holder, and then pick up the cardboard box that's holding the collection bag. The flaps on the bottom should open by themselves (since the flaps weren't sealed shut). This way, there's no need to have to pick up the bag (which will probably be heavy). Then just store the cardboard box flat, along with the shredder-head holder and that's it.

Hi Shaul, Can you share a picture of your shredding setup? It sounds really interesting!

Thanks!