Paper Recycling

Everywhere you look you see one thing: paper. From posters and notebooks to cardboard boxes and magazines, paper is part of our everyday lives. Paper takes up over 40% of our waste stream, making it the top material that we throw away. That means for every 100 pounds of trash we throw away, about 35 pounds of it is paper! If we could just recycle one morning newspaper every day, we could save 41,000 trees from being cut down.

Paper recycling is the process of manufacturing old paper products and turning them into new, reusable paper products. Recycling old paper products uses 60% less energy than manufacturing it from new materials. Making paper is a relatively easy process. Paper is made from trees, and every single part of the tree is either chopped up to make products or burned to create energy.

There are so many other products that you can make with recycled paper. And the best thing about paper recycling is that it used less chemicals and bleaches, which is safer for the environment. Benefits of recycling paper: recycling newspaper saves 14% of landfill space, For every ton of newspaper recycled you can save enough energy to power a television for 31 hours, Recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees, Reduces sulfur dioxide emissions. Uses less fossil fuels, Most paper can be recycled up to 8 times to create new products, Leaves more trees for the sustainability of our environment, Saves energy.

There are so many other products that you can make with recycled paper. And the best thing about paper recycling is that it used less chemicals and bleaches, which is safer for the environment. When you recycle paper you allow more trees to thrive and supply us with healthy oxygen to breathe.

Source :  www.greenstudentu.com/encyclopedia/recycling/paper

The Paper Invention

A lot of the people living in the modern age take paper for use. It is a common object found nearly everywhere, it is cheap and light, and it is easy to get a hold of. But paper has come a long way from its creation to the form we know today. People may not know it but the invention of paper has revolutionized a lot of things like the very civilization and culture and education of people.

According to recent research and excavations, the earliest form of paper was dated back to the Western Han Dynasty, but this type of paper was made hemp that was pounded and disintegrated. It was very coarse, had an uneven texture and it was very thick. This type of paper was unearthed in a Han tomb somewhere in Ganshu Province and it is so far the earliest type of paper found.

Before Cai Lun invented paper, writing surfaces were made from different materials such as bones, bamboo slips, wooden boards and even tortoise shells. These things are not only heavy but they also took up a lot of space and are hard to carry around. People then needed not only intelligence to study, but they needed to be strong to carry their books as well. Because of this, many thought these kinds of writing surface were unsuitable. It was probably what prompted Cai Lun to invent a new lightweight writing surface that wasn’t too thick or too bulky.

With the invention of a cheap and easy writing surface, it meant that ideas, teachings and philosophies can now be easily passed on to other people. Education became a much easier task and communication with people from a distance is now simpler. The use of paper changed the way people taught and learned. It also promoted and hastened the progress of civilization and culture, and literature.

The technique of paper making had gone through different processes being refined and perfected, from its humble beginnings in the Eastern Han Dynasty to the factory made and mass produced product it is today. It truly is one of the best inventions made by man.

Source : totallyhistory.com/the-invention-of-paper/