Daily Green Guide

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Paper Recycling

 

Paper is one of the most versatile and

important materials used in homes, schools, offices, and businesses throughout

the world. Each day we enjoy the benefits of paper products ¨C from the

newspaper we read in the morning; to the box that holds our cereal; to the

paper we use for homework and business purposes; and the documents that mark

the significant achievements of our lives.

 

 

Paper dates back over 2,000 years and

hand-made production methods were used until the 19th century. The

industrialization of the paper making process helped to bring education and

books to a broad spectrum of people, and continued advances have resulted in

better and more efficient products that meet our daily needs, while leaving a

smaller footprint on our environment.

 

 

 

 

 

The Facts

About Paper and Paper Recycling

 

 

In 2006, the amount of paper

recovered for recycling averaged 357 pounds for each man, woman, and child

in the United States

 

Every ton of paper recycled

saves more than 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space

By 2012, the paper industry¡¯s

goal is to recover 55 percent of all the paper Americans consume for

recycling, which is approximately 55 million tons of paper

More than 37 percent of the

fiber used to make new paper products in the United States comes from

recycled sources

86 percent (approximately 254

million) of Americans have access to curbside or drop-off paper recycling

programs

 

 

 

 

 

Buying recycled paper is an equally

important step in the recycling process ¨C it closes the recycling loop. Even

though trees are a renewable resource, much energy and landfilll space can be

conserved when we buy recycled content paper.

 

 

When buying recycled content paper,

remember to look for the highest percentage of post-consumer waste content (the

largest percentage of waste paper used to make the new, recycled-content

paper).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recycled

 

 

Also, make sure to

look for the Recycled symbol which means that product is made out materials

used before. There may be a statement next to this symbol that mentioning the

percentage of recycled-content in the product.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recyclable

 

 

Confused by this

symbol? Don¡¯t be. This one means a product can be recycled ¨C

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can

Paper Continue To Be Recycled?

 

 

 

 

 

Each time paper is recycled, the fiber

length decreases, which impacts its strength. It is estimated that paper has

approximately seven generations, meaning it can be recycled up to seven times.

 

 

 

 

 

Because paper is made from a renewable

resource, introducing new, or ¡°virgin¡± fiber into the process is a logical

answer. Today approximately 80 percent of the nation¡¯s paper mills use some

recovered fiber in the production of new paper and paperboard products.

 

 

 

 

 

Further, the U.S. forest products industry plants

an average of 1.7 million trees every day - five new trees for every tree

harvested. Thanks to the responsible forestry practices of U.S. companies, the amount of standing timber in

U.S.

forests has increased by nearly 40 percent over the past half-century, and by

10 million acres since 1990.

 

How to Make Recycled Paper

 

Trees are made up of cellulose fibers

that are held together with a glue-like substance called lignin. This makes

trees strong enough to use for building houses and furniture. When wood is cooked,

the cellulose is separated from the lignin to make wood pulp. This pulp is made

into paper.

 

 

In ancient times, people wrote on animal

skins, bones and clay tablets. Around 3500 BC, the Egyptians wrote on a woven

mat of reeds called papyrus, which is where the word paper comes from. Around

2,000 years ago, the Chinese discovered that they could make a thin paste of

mulberry bark, hemp and rags and let it dry into a sheet in the sun. Many types

of paper are now made from wood.

 

 

The modern day method of making paper is

as follows: Logs are chipped into small pieces of wood. These chips are cooked

with chemicals that dissolve the glue-like lignin holding the wood fibers

together. This process leaves a pulp made of cellulose fibers and lots of

water. Then, the pulp is put on a screen to let the water drain away. The

fibers remain to form a sheet of paper that is dried and put on a roll. When we

recycle paper we use the wood pulp/cellulose over and over again.

 

 

NOTE: Making recycled paper can be a bit

messy, but fun. Have appropriate supervision because the process involves using

an electric blender and a utility blade and/or scissors.

 

Materials Needed To Make

Recycled Paper

 

A newspaper

A blender

Water

A kitchen sink with a good

drain plug or a large plastic tub/container

Four clothes pins

Two 9¡å aluminum pie pans

(square or round)

One square foot of fiberglass

screen

A marking pen

Scissors or a utility knife

 

Optional

 

A sponge and blotting paper

Rolling pin

Colored construction paper

Colored threads

Glitter

Small leaves

 

Step 1¡ªMaking Your Deckle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A deckle is the frame and screen that the

paper pulp will be made on. It allows the fibers that make the paper to collect

on the surface of the screen and the water to drain through.

 

 

To make your deckle you will need to get

an adult to help you.

 

 

First, take the aluminum pie pans and

draw a circle or square, depending on what shaped pans you have (circle in

circle, square in square), 1 1/2¡å to 2¡å from the edge in the bottom of each

pan. Then using the utility blade or scissors, cut out the circle or square.

 

 

Place your pie pan on top of the

square-foot of fiberglass screen and trace the shape of the outside of the pan

in the middle of the screen with a dark coloured pen (lay newspaper on your

working surface so that you do not get ink on the counter!). Draw four tabs on

the square or circle that extend to the edge of the screen. Cut out the tabbed

circle or square.

 

 

Layer the screen between the two pie pans

and use the clothespins to hold everything together at the site of the tabs.

 

Step 2¡ªMaking The Slurry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slurry is the paper pulp and water

mixture. It might remind you of dirty old oatmeal.

 

 

To make the slurry you will need to get

an adult to help you.

 

 

First, tear a section of newspaper into

roughly one inch pieces. Place one cup of the torn newspaper into the blender

with two cups of water. Put the lid on the blender and turn it on high. Let the

blender run until all of the paper disappears and it appears as if you have a

purple-grey, pulpy mixture (again, it may remind you of dirty old oatmeal).

 

 

Place about four inches of water into the

kitchen sink (with the drain plugged) or large plastic tub/container. Add the

slurry mixture to the water in the sink or container.

 

 

You may notice that the suspended paper

fibers in the water that make up the slurry feel soft. If you look really

closely at other paper fibers in paper products such as tissue or toilet paper

(pull the paper apart a little), you may notice that the fibers look similar!

 

Step 3¡ªMaking The Paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mix up the slurry and water mixture in

the sink or container really well. You can use your hands! NOTE: You will need

to mix the slurry each time you make a new piece of paper.

 

 

Hold your deckle with both hands on the

pie pan edges and scoop it down towards the bottom of the sink or container at

a slight angle. Slowly lift the deckle out of the water allowing the water to

drain out (back into the sink or container) for about a minute. You should have

a thin layer of paper fibers settling on the surface of the fiberglass screen

framed by the edges you cut out of the pans. NOTE: You do not want to have it

too thick (more than 1/4 inch) or too thin (you can see the screen in patches)

on the screen of your deckle or the paper will be difficult to work with. You can

run your finger along the bottom of the screen to help get the water off.

 

 

Set your deckle down on a piece of

newspaper and open your deckle by removing the clothes pins and top pan from

the stack. Carefully lift the fiberglass screen with the paper on it by the

tabs and move it to a flat piece of newspaper. You can press a piece of

newspaper over the paper (you can use a rolling pin to press if you desire), or

press a piece of blotting paper over the paper and use a sponge to eliminate

some of the extra water. NOTE: You do not want to dry the paper too much while

it is still on the fiberglass screen or between newspaper or blotting paper as

it will stick.

 

 

Gently peel the paper off the deckle

screen and place it on a piece of newspaper to dry.

 

 

Once your paper is dry, you can use it!

You can write on it, draw on it, fold it, etc.

 

 

In the picture above, you can see the

paper on the screen of the deckle.

 

 

You can experiment further by adding a

cupful of colored construction paper blended in the same manner of the

newspaper to your slurry to make colored paper. You can also add colored threads,

glitter, small leaves, etc. to the slurry to make the paper more interesting.

 

 

 

 

From Willowlady