You use paper just about everywhere you go! Paper was a revolutionary invention because it is used in a countless amount of things: from books, to masks! Paper is just old trees that have been mashed up and their fibers have been separated. Fibers are tiny hooks or barbs that keep things together. Once they have the mixture of old trees, they join the fibers together to create paper. To learn how paper is made, check out our blog post that covers the process in which paper is made!
Cutting down trees can be bad for the environment, so human discovered recycling! Recycling is when old paper. plastic, or glass is made into new things. That happens through breaking down those materials. In this post, we are focusing on paper. Here is a refresher on how paper is made:
- Cut down old trees (or get old paper from a recycling center)
- Grind up the old trees or old paper into a powder. Then, add water to make a substance called pulp. (People stir this mixture to loosen the fibers)
- Lay this pulp into a sheet on a filer or a mold. A roller will make the pulp flat.
- The pulp will, dry in the Sun or be dried by artificial heat like a heater. (When the pulp dries, the fibers will join back together)
- The dried pulp is taken off the mold or filter and is cut into smaller pieces for paper. That is how paper is made!!
To recycle paper, people take old (used) paper and mix it with water to make the pulp, which makes paper!