Cardboard Leaching Checker
Cardboard has long been ubiquitous in modern life. Indeed, its prominence has created a challenge (an even greater one when moving or redecorating) faced by most of us on a near-daily basis when it comes to recycling the stuff. We stuff all our recycling bins can handle, often sneaking the leftovers into those of our neighbours in an attempt to get rid of the stuff in a responsible manner.
After all, it’s wholly and utterly recyclable. It can also have other uses. Storage, crafts and, of course, for those of us with growing spaces, a useful helper when it comes to keeping weeds at bay and even providing mulch. And free. What’s not to love?
Potentially a whole lot, it turns out.
Cardboard is not as pure as we may have thought. It can contain deadly PFAS or forever chemicals to make it water-resistant, potentially harmful heavy metals used in inks and staples, other substances in glues used to hold the box edges together and on tape as well as a variety of waxes and fire retardants. It’s a potentially toxic brew that can leach and contaminate the soils of our growing spaces.
It should be noted that NOT ALL cardboard contains all of these elements. We gather that some types are perfectly safe to use in our gardens. The trouble starts with attempting to tell them apart. To that end, we’ve created the Cardboard Leaching Checker suite to help provide peace of mind that growing spaces are safe.
The elements covered include the following.
Forever Chemicals:
PFOS & PFOA
Heavy Metals:
Arsenic
Beryllium
Cadmium
Copper
Lead
Mercury (total)
Nickel
Selenium
Vanadium
Zinc
Hydrocarbons:
Aliphatic TPH >C5-C6
Aliphatic TPH >C6-C8
Aliphatic TPH >C8-C10
Aliphatic TPH >C10-C12
Aliphatic TPH >C12-C16
Aliphatic TPH >C16-C21
Aliphatic TPH >C21-C35
Aliphatic TPH >C35-C44
Total Aliphatic Hydrocarbons
Aromatic TPH >C5-C7
Aromatic TPH >C7-C8
Aromatic TPH >C8-C10
Aromatic TPH >C10-C12
Aromatic TPH >C12-C16
Aromatic TPH >C16-C21
Aromatic TPH >C21-C35
Aromatic TPH >C35-C44
Total Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Plus:
Organic Matter Content
This package is often paired with the State of Your Soil or Advanced Gardening Suite packages that provide analysis of soil pH and texture as well as measures of major plant nutrients, including potassium, phosphorus and magnesium to help make your growing space as fertile as it can be in addition to being safe. The basic State of Your Soil package costs £125. More on this can be found by clicking here. The Advanced Gardening Suite costs £200 - more details here.
Shipping info:
We will send you a testing kit that includes soil sample containers and instructions on how to take a sample from your growing space. When you're done, place the samples back in the box that will have a pre-paid postage address label already affixed, seal it and pop the package into a Royal Mail post box or drop it off at a local post office.
Click here to find your nearest post box location.