Ever since lead printing plates were banned in north Americal over twenty years ago, the amount of heavy metals in newsprint, magazines, and colored inserts are at background levels and are not a concern in compost or the garden based on EPA regulations.  No organic gardening or farming association anywhere prohibits the use of colored paper in compost.

Years ago, and in other parts of the world where lead printing plates are still used, the lead levels are high and a serious problem, but not in north America.  Cadmium is used in yellow inks in concentrations of concern in dyes used for plastics, but not in printing on paper.

Please do not pass on this myth since there is no evidence to back up this assertion that colored paper contains heavy metals at levels to be a problem in the garden.  I have seen dozens of heavy metal tests on paper products, including magazines and colored inserts and all of the tests are the same as ordinary compost.

Regarding using soy based inks rather than oil based inks is another common bit of folklore.  First, the concentration of hydrocarbons is nearly undetectable in oil based inks and composting is the recommended TREATMENT for many hydrocarbons including oil, gasoline, hydralulic fluid, and diesel in concentrations thousands of times higher than found in paper.

The move toward soy inks is to reduce the use of fossil fuel based ink with a renewable ink, and is a good environmental step.  But it has nothing to do with any real biohazard in the paper from the hydrocarbons.

The bottom line is that all north american paper products are safe to use in composting, as a mulch and in the garden and there is absolutely no evidence I am aware of to the contrary.

"Jim the Compost Man"