Will the toxicity remain after toxic plants are composted?

Question

Will the toxicity remain after toxic plants are composted?

Answer 1

While the toxic plants are decomposing, they will release toxic gaseous and/or liquid by-products.  This is harmful to the air and area surrounding.  

A small amount of toxicity will remain.

Answer 2

it really depends on what kind of toxicity you are talking about. if it is about plants which accumulate toxic chemicals or metals, then toxicity will remain even after decompostion. the toxic materials could just accumulate in the soil or in water. afterall, toxic elements (metallic) are not really decomposted. decomposition breaks down the carbon-containing constituents of the plants (or animals), and not the other minerals (that could be toxic). if the toxicity is due to some naturally-occurring plant chemicals (some secondary metabolites maybe), the fate of these chemicals are still dependent on their composition.if they cannot be decomposted along with the plant, then i guess these chemicals will remain in the soil or they will be leached into some bodies of water, whatever.

Answer 3

Not if toxicity comes from a poison exclusive to hot blooded animals.

Answer 4

I assume the toxic plants you want to compost are either poison Ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac.  What makes them toxic is urushiol oil that is found on their leaves, in their stems, and in their roots.

An oily substance resists breaking down.  Spill some oil on your compost pile, and it is still there the following year.  The same is true for urushiol oil.

The plant material will break down during composting.  The urushiol will not break down.  It will still be present in the composted material.  You won't notice it except it will make the composted material adhere to your skin a little better than it would have without the oil.  You will still get a rash by handling composted toxic plants.

You will also be exposed to this urushiol oil if you burn toxic plants.

Answer 5

Most plants are considered toxic because they are harmful when consumed by humans or animals.  The exception to this, of course, are the poison oak, ivy, and sumac, which I would never intentionally put in my compost pile. Of the other plants, some of the toxins will break down and some may not in your compost pile.  The compost is not going to be used for consumption by either humans or animals so any remaining toxins will have no ill effects as organic matter, where it be further broken down.  There will be no harm to microbes, earth worms or insects.

Answer 6

no,the toxicity will not remain after the toxic plants composted.

Answer 7

You got some very good answers here .I'll just add that ,if this plants decomposed for long ,nothing organic will stay unchanged.So if it covered and produce heat ,its safe .If it's contain metals ,get rid off or burn ,as far away as you can .If you want to B sure it's safe ,see if insects ,worms etch like this compost .You can put some small piece of meet to rot and see if the maggots like it .Or have your Ointement ready by and then spread some on your arm, if it burning ,wash and oint it .Do good.

Answer 8

While the 2 previous answerers are correct, I want to present another view.

The actual correct answers can vary wildly to your question because of it's overall general nature, and there are many factors to discuss.

First, we have to address what you mean by 'toxic'. If it was a plant that ingested heavy metals into its structure in an area known for chemical waste, then there is a possibility that the metals could be distributed enough during the composting process to allow the finished product to be no longer toxic.

If you are talking about plant-based oils as toxic, like one of the previous answerer's discussions, then no, composting would not reduce the toxicity level because of the nature of the oils. Even burning poison ivy and oak is dangerous because the oils retain some of their characteristics when released into the air. But, I digress.

There is another factor of toxicity we need to consider, and that's plants that are non-oily, but simply have proteins in their makeup that are toxic (Pointsettia, for example). These plants could be safely composted and the results (if done properly) would be safe compost.

Now, the final factors that influence final toxicity are composting methods and concentrations of the toxic materials.

If you "hot" compost, meaning that you compost in a tight container, combine high carbon items with high nitrogen materials (coffee, horse/rabbit/chicken/bat manure), with heat and humidity, and there is a very hot process (around 150 F) that occurs that will break down almost anything.

Your best bet, however, depending on the plant type, is just to keep it out of your compost pile and dispose of it in the trash.