How often would you say you waste paper? If you look into your recycling bin, or perhaps even your garbage, you would be surprised at how much wasted paper you throw out on average. From printing on the wrong side of the sheet, to tossing away old notes, the average office generates around 73kgs of waste each year, 80% of which is recyclable. To make newspapers alone, about 40, 000 trees are cut down each day.
An easy and fun way of getting either you or your family involved in saving trees and remembering to recycle paper is by actually making your own paper. The following are the steps you can take to make your old notes into beautiful hand made paper, perfect for gifts, notebooks or anything of your choosing!
Make Your Own Recycled Paper:
You will need:
- Scrap pieces of paper
- A small strainer
- A blender
- A plastic container
- Old news papers
- Optional: A rolling pin
Directions:
Fill the blender about 2/3 of the way full with the scrap pieces of paper and fill the rest with water. Blend until you reach a creamy consistency and it looks pulp like. Pour contents of the blender into a plastic container, and continue to blend paper until you have your desired amount. Then take the strainer, scoop some pulp, and wait for the water to drain out. Then place on a hard surface, pat down with old news papers to absorb the remaining water, and roll out with a rolling pin (keep the news paper on top, and roll on the news paper to avoid unwanted messes). Finally, put out into a warm sunny place, preferably outside and wait to dry.
*Tip: For coloured paper, add some drops of food colouring to the pulp mixture.
Volia! Enjoy junk lovers.
