If you regularly get the newspaper, you could recycle it to help the environment. However, there is also a much more hands-on approach that will put your newspaper to good use after you have finished reading through it: mulching.

You can either combine your newspaper with mulch or shred the newspaper to turn it into mulch:

Covering Your Weeds

Placing newspapers over weeds can smother them by preventing them from receiving the sunlight they need to grow and thrive. Not only do the weeds disappear quickly, but they likely will not return for the entire season. Simply cut around the plants that you want to protect so they can receive the sunlight they need. They can still gather the much-needed nutrients and water underneath the newspaper. They also won't have to compete as much with weeds.

The wind can easily pick up and blow away the newspaper. For this reason, you will want to spray the newspaper with water so it will remain still. Also, you may have a difficult time laying the newspaper over tall weeds. You can simply walk over the weeds to push them down so it is then easier to lay newspaper over it.

Using Enough Newspaper

One layer of newspaper is often not enough to protect your lawn from weeds. Instead, you should have at least 10 layers of newspaper to prevent weeds from penetrating. You can either cut out squares for the rest of your plants to poke through or you can wrap the newspaper around the base of the plant.

After you have placed the newspaper over the soil, place mulch on top of the newspaper. Mix leaves and wood chips together. This will look much more natural than simply the newspaper spread out across your lawn. The advantage of using a newspaper is that it is a thick material that the weeds will struggle to penetrate, especially if you use enough layers. However, the newspaper will decompose so that you do not have to remove it later.

Mulching Your Newspaper

Besides simply laying the newspaper over your garden in sheets, you can also chop up and shred your newspaper so it can then be used as much itself. This is best used with plants that grow higher than five inches tall.

Newspaper is also good for the environment. It does not come with harmful dioxins. Instead, the newspaper is bleached with hydrogen peroxide, which is much better for the environment. While newspaper is safe, make sure you do not use other paper products such as glossy magazine paper because these can come with chemicals that are not good for the environment. To learn more, contact a company like Brampton Pallet Inc New Pallets with any questions or concerns you have.