Is Colored Mulch Toxic?
I sometimes encounter customers who ask, “Is colored mulch toxic?”. Most colored mulches are dyed with harmless dyes, like iron oxide-based dyes for red or carbon-based dyes for black and dark brown. Some cheap dyes, however, can be dyed with harmful or toxic chemicals. Generally, if the price of dyed mulch seems too good to be true, it probably is not good at all and you should spend the extra money on better quality and safer mulch. This is pretty rare, though, and usually, it is not the dye itself that is of concern with the safety of mulches, but rather the wood. While most natural mulches, like double or triple shredded mulch, cedar mulch, or pine bark, are made directly from trees, many colored mulches are made from recycled wood – like old pallets, decks, crates, etc. These recycled bits of treated wood can contain chromates copper arsenate (CCA). Using CCA to treat wood was banned in 2003, but many times this wood is still taken from demolitions or other sources and recycled into dyed mulches. CCA-treated wood can kill beneficial soil bacteria, beneficial insects, earthworms, and young plants. It can also be harmful to people spreading this mulch and animals who dig in it.
Safety of Dyed Mulch in the Garden
Besides the potential dangers of colored mulch and pets, people, or young plants, dyed mulches are not beneficial for the soil. They will help retain soil moisture and help protect plants during winter, but they do not enrich the soil or add beneficial bacteria and nitrogen, as natural mulches do. Dyed mulches break down much slower than natural mulches. When wood breaks down, it requires nitrogen to do so. Colored mulch in gardens can actually rob the plants of the nitrogen they need to survive. Better alternatives to dyed mulches are pine needles, natural double or triple processed mulch, cedar mulch, or pine bark. Because these mulches are not dyed, they will also not fade as quickly as dyed mulches and will not need to be topped up as often. If you want to use dyed mulches, simply research where the mulch has come from and fertilize plants with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer.
