Paper Recycling

Being a big fan of crafting I love using material that I already have lying around to make awesome stuff. Paper recycling is one of these crafts and it's very flexible as well, there is a wide range of items you can make well mainly stationary but that already includes notepads! Cards! File Paper! Okay maybe that only excites me but honestly I think recycled paper just has such a nice look, a homemade look. And it's so customizable! For craft enthusiasms this is a good time. So I'll stop blabbering about and get to the part where I tell you the "how" stuff.

Recycling Paper = Pancake Making

Basically you're going to take all your scrap paper and mix it all together with water to form a smooth paste much like making pancake mix. Then you're going to lay the paste in a mould and squeeze out all the water so as to obtain a sort of half done sheet which you then leave to dry somewhere and voila!



YOU WILL NEED

•     Blender
•     Water
•     Sink
•     Scrap paper
•     Paper towels
•     Large basin or bin big enough to contain the mixture
•     Rolling pin
•     Sponge
•     Newspaper or cardboard for drying
•     Screen Frame: Use one made for a small window, or make this by attaching a wire mesh to a wooden frame with staples or wires
•     Customizing stuff (dried herbs, leaves, flowers, seeds, thread, spices, colored paper piece)

1.     Gather your material and most importantly your scrap paper. It's better to use paper which is clean (so don't try to recycle your grease stained pizza box) and don't hesitate to grab some colourful pieces if you're going for a colourful result. If however you want a white piece of paper at the end you can add bleach to the mixture later on.
2.  Proceed to tear all the paper in little pieces the smaller the better (a shredder would be very useful in this case). Then leave all the pieces in a vat of water overnight.
3. When you're paper has soaked enough use your blender to mix it the wet paper with more water (ratio 2 parts water to 1 part paper). Once you reach the consistency of gravy it's done (let's abandon the pancake mix metaphor at this point).
4. Placing your screen in a large container you can now carefully pour your mix on the screen making sure the mix is nicely spread out so your resulting paper will be nice and smooth. At this point you can customize it however you wish.
5. Press out the remaining water on the screen using the rolling pin. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible and you can use the sponge to absorb any water on the underside of the screen as well. Then when you're satisfied with the dryness of the sheet carefully turn over the screen and tap the sheet onto a piece of newspaper/cardboard.
6. Press the sheet flat and let it dry for 24 hours then peel it off and trim the edges so it looks nice and square or don't if you like it just the way it is! 

 

And there you have it! No need to buy paper in stores anymore, you can just make it yourself provided you have A LOT of free time and a team of people working constantly... Okay so maybe paper recycling is not a very reliable supply of school stationary but it can still be a lot of fun! Provided you're into that...

Rubbish Around the World

Recycling is not the same everywhere, it adapts to the lifestyle, the landscape, climate and the country's main concerns. For example here in Mauritius arable land is limited and the country has to rely on a lot of imported products, a more pronounced composting program would help the country strengthen their agricultural chances. The variety in different recycling ideas and schemes which results from different cultures is very interesting.

 

In Switzerland recycling means saving cash!

It's hard to say that everyone cares about recycling however much easier to say they care about money! The usual association of the two is that recycling tends to be expensive, in Switzerland however it's the other way around. If you want to throw away your rubbish in the usual non green matter then your rubbish bag will need to sport a little sticker which you will have to purchase for around a euro, no sticker, no ride to the dump.You want to be a lazy human being? Fine but that will cost you some coins... oh what's that? You love recycling? More like it!

In Germany not recycling is just not cool... 
If you're moving to Germany and intend on being amongst the popular ranks you better start learning your colour coded bins, for example blue is for paper & cardboard. Of course if you just don't want to bother with all that you can just use the black bin (which is just for stuffing anything into) though i'll warn you, black might not be a good colour for you. You don't want to get the classic "Oh you're using the black bin? Ugh" along with judgy judgy eyes.

In Senegal  everything is worth keeping
Senegal is a good example of a country where recycling comes naturally to people. Anything can be given a second life; tomato tins become drinking cups, old newspaper become wrappers for street bought fruits, scrap metal is remade into kitchen ustensils or children's toys and even fruit peel can be used to make perfume!

Not everyone is good at recycling

Many countries are not doing as great as Senegal or Switzerland in controlling their waste and since recycling has basically become trendy int the spheres of internationals it just becomes embarassing when you fail much like tripping and falling flat on your face in fornt of everyone. In Italy local politicians are saying that the waste management industry is controlled by organised crime! Ah the Italian mafia always so stylish. The Greeks however could learn from their trend following ways, well to be fair they did try when they acquired Europe's largest recycling plant worth 75m euros, way to go! A huge mountain of rubbish collapsing on it and badly damaging it? Not such a great way to go...

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 Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4620041.stm

Fun Recycling ideas

Recycling is becoming a duty we need to fulfill but that also means that it has become a chore just like washing the dishes or taking out the trash... well actually it has just made taking out the trash an even more dreadful chore. So what if we turned the chore in a fun way to spend your time and make something useful or decorative? And the best part is that the stuff you make does not necessarily have to look like a primary project! Well that is if you don't mess it up...

Magazines (and such) Recycling

Turning colored glossy magazines (preferably) into decorative coverings for almost any objects such as frames or storage boxes!

(Click on the picture for the tutorial)

You can learn how to turn an old shoe box/cardboard box into a cool storage box for your spare stationary or your new magazines or bits and pieces of stuff you have lying around... storage space is always useful when you're tidying up and have no idea where you should stuff this odd keyring thing of unknown origin.

Light Bulb Recycling

What to do with these useless glass light bulbs you say? Well if the bells of Christmas are around the corner you could always do with some pretty tree Christmas tree ornaments or if you're in a warmer season why not put some freshly cut flowers in stylish hanging vases!

Soda Cans Tab Bracelets

Grab some ribbon, a friend and A LOT of soda cans and you've got yourself a lazy afternoon of gossip and crafts with the end product being these awesome bracelets! (And possibly diabetes)
 

That's some of my favorites and don't forget that there are tons of other recyclables that you can use like naked paper toilet rolls, shoe boxes, used up socks and you won't believe the stuff they make out of ice cream sticks! So next festive holiday season instead of buying decorations which are going to end up in a cardboard box in the attic for the rest for the year think about recycling that cardboard box into original decorations!

The effects we don't see... yet

 

You know when your mom tells you not to pick at your face because you're going to end up with some horrible growth and then you just ignore her and keep picking until you realise that the pimples on your face spell "Should have listened!". Well pollution's just like that; as long as you don't see whatever all these environmental documentaries are calling the "horrific consequences of throwing that tiny plastic wrapper on the grass" affecting your life, you won't see the problem as that serious.

Pollution affects your body as well, especially air pollution. It attaacks the lungs, skin and even hair! The cause is that sunlight tends to break the components of air pollution into very small, very reactive particles called free radicals (bit of chemistry for you there, I promise it will only happen once). This particles are very harmful and can cause skin cancer, and other cancers as well as messing with your hair and your inisdes and it has been linked with faster aging of the skin! 

Now ignoring the warning does not make you a horrible person it just makes you a completely normal human being, I mean most of us ignore our own warnings telling us stuff like "Maybe watching this incredibly addictive series before doing really important homework due for the next day isn't such a great idea (especially when you're in possession of the whole season...)", so how are we expected to listen to strangers's advice? Well because pollution gives you pimples. That's right, and when you go ahead and ignore my warnings I will get the sastisfaction of reading "She was right!" on your face.