Skip – I tend to stay away from bleached office paper as a bedding material. Using it in moderation is fine, and you could probably get away with using it as a sole bedding if you really wanted to – but it does contain some chemicals – some not so great for the worms; some not so great for the environment (eg dioxins).

The reason I haven’t written all that much about inks is due to the fact that there just doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer out there (likely because different inks have different chemicals). I’ve read that coloured inks can contain heavy metals so I tend to stay away from them – especially glossy stuff

Shredded cardboard is an awesome bedding – whether or not your shredder can handle it, I’m not sure. Let me know if you find a shredder that handles cardboard as well – I would love to have something like that.

Your permaculture set-up sounds awesome – do keep me posted on that!

I am wanting to set up a bin after we move, and wondered about using shreadded office type paper to make beds. Some of the pages are printed on inkjet printers and should probably be ok, but what about the ones printer on laser printers? How about copy machines? Is the toner harmful to the wiggley guys?

I have read most everything on your blog so far, but no asnsers. Toner has been mentioned, but don’t know if it will be an issue. I suppose it could be tried on a few worms and see how they like it.

What about running cardboard through a shreadder? Would that work for bedding?

I have learned much and appreciate your efforts to train the masses. It is very helpful, and while some like myself don’t post comments, the blog gets read over and over.

Thanks in advance, and I will buy my starter worms from you when I set up my bin! The goal is to do worms, BSF’s, talapia, and chickens in a permaculture setup wasting nothing. I really appreciated the guy you had post on the BSF’s and it has changed my direction somewhat.

Skip in KC