Should I use tar paper to line a compost bin?

Question

I need a low cost way to line a compost bin to prevent the wood from roting. Someone had suggested using tar paper since we have some available. I'm pretty sure it is used to put between roofs and shingles. It comes in rolls and does not have any labels. It seems like a bad idea to me since I have no idea what is in the tar and the compost is going to be used in a vegtable garden. I am afraid of the tar melting and or leeching into the compost.

Answer 1

Actually the tar water will break up after a while exposed to the weather. I would just spray the wood with Thompson's Water Seal....let it dry good before filling it with compost material.

I made mine so that I could pull it up and flip it over right next to the spot it had been. That way you can turn the materials over and back into the bin real easy. Compost requires turning, so air gets in to it...otherwise it builds up too much heat and kills the micro-organism that do all the breakdown work.

Answer 2

You really want sufficient airflow through the compost. I use chicken wire for my container.

Answer 3

I wouldn't use the tar paper!  Of course, I am very picky about what goes into my organic garden.  I have compost bins that are wood and not lined.  They do rot, but very slowly.  I've had them for years.  If you are going to use the compost in the garden, why not just bury the food scraps in the ground now... where the garden will be?  In the summer, I take my waste out to the garden and bury it nearby, the next season I turn the composted soil and it is right there by my garden... simple!