Composting Poison Ivy??

I have been picking up bags of leaves from my area to shred and add to my compost bin and was wondering how any possible poison ivy leaves compost and whether they'll lose their toxicity as they break down.

[CaptainCompostAL]

Absolutely! Any "toxic" or controversal plant waste will break down and compost fine under constant aerobic conditions, if you have a good blend of greens and browns, and keep internal temps at least 140 degrees F, for several days. If in doubt sprinkle a tea of molasses all over the pile to heat it up and increase the microbial activity for faster decomposition.

Good well managed, aerobic, mature compost always has a near neutral pH, and is totally safe for all garden styles and techniques, regardless if the original organic matter ingredients are highly acidic or alkaline, or containing mild pathogens or toxins in it.

Thank you! I've gathered about 80 bags of leaves from around here and am planning on putting half of them through the shredder today. In this area, it would be hard NOT to include any poison ivy leaves. I'm pretty allergic to the green leaves and wasn't sure about handling the composted leaves.

It would seem that if they retained their toxicity, someone would have posted about this - right?

[Gar]

I agree with the Good Captain. Today on Howards show a lady called in asking if poision ivy is ok for the compost pile. Howard's answer was yes, the posion ivy will break down when the pile heats up and not be a problem when the compost is used.