Originally Posted by glowworm
I know that newspapers makes a great mulch. Just think about where all that printing ink goes. Printers ink and dye contaminate the soil. I am sorry to be a downer. Just think about it.
Newspaper Inks
Newspapers were once printed using dyes and pigments which contained hazardous minerals like lead, cadmium and chromium. But according to the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) efforts were taken to address this issue, and slowly heavy metals were phased out of the inks. To encourage more and more recycling of the newspapers, soy-based inks were developed that made newspapers absolutely safe and devoid of any harmful inks.
NAA states in its website that most heavy metals were phased out of printing inks in the 1970’s as per the new regulations set by EPA. It also says that although there are a few metals that are still used in trace amounts to make certain pigments, they cannot be considered hazardous because of their very low concentration.
from
http://www.brighthub.com/diy/lawn-ga...les/71007.aspx
I will have to try this, I battle weeds every year.