paperproducts as growing medium

[RushWayne]

heikki ryynänen (makmeek at hotmail.com) 
wrote:
<< anyone experienced in this field?
the things that puzzle my mind are the sentences in 
Stamets' growing gourmet and mm...-book that advice 
the persons concidering their use (newspapers) to check 
are they printed using soybased inks; is this only a 
'theoretical' -ethic- advice to ensure the cultivator the use 
of eco-sertificates.(pardon my terminology) or; is there a 
threat of producing fruitbodies not recommendable for
consumption? ie. do carbon (to my understanding, this is 
the alternative) and the metals in colourpigments leech into 
the mushrooms causing undesireable high levels of them?
what about cardboard? any problems with this?
these questions have been in my mind for a long time and 
as i came to conclusion that reishi could be grown utilising
 paperwaste (GGMM, not franckly said in one sentence, 
but...), i would like to delve into the field and try it out... 
so; input here needed too...>>

As I understand it, newspaper in the US and probably
western Europe is now almost entirely printed with
soy based inks, except the slick advertising inserts.
Whether this is also the case in Third World countries
is anyone's guess.  

The concern is that newspapers in some countries may
be printed with inks containing heavy metals or other
toxic compounds, and the mushrooms will absorb these
and present a hazard to the consumer.

I have not heard of this concern in connection with
cardboard, but it is probably similar.

Why not look into growing on agricultural waste, such
as straw, nuthulls, woodchips, corncobs, etc. etc.?
--Rush
http://www.mycomasters.com/
"Growing Mushrooms with Hydrogen Peroxide"