TITLE: RECYCLING PAPER
AUTHOR: Christy Hornung, Dodge City Public Schools,
Dodge City, Kansas
OVERVIEW: Fifty percent of the solid waste produced in
North America is paper. Producing enough paper uses
vast numbers of trees and immense amounts of energy.
Waste products from the production of energy and from
the manufacturing often produce pollution, and live
trees help preserve the global ecology. It makes sense
to cut down on our high use of packaging in products.
In addition, it makes sense to recycle.
RESOURCES/MATERIALS:
old newspaper electric blender
large pan wire screening
water cornstarch
stirrer wax paper
rolling pin
ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
DIRECTIONS FOR RECYCLING
1. Tear a page of used paper into small pieces.
Place it in a large pan. Add enough water to
cover the paper and soak for 10 minutes.
2. While the paper is soaking, mix one-fourth of a
cup of water with about one-eighth of a cup of
cornstarch. Stir until the cornstarch dissolves.
3. Pour off the water in the pan that was not
absorbed by the paper. Put the paper in a
blender. Add the cornstarch and water mixture.
Cover the blender. Run the blender on high for
two minutes.
4. Put the screen over the pan. Pour the material
onto the screen. With your hands, spread it out
so that it is flat and thin. Cover the material
with wax paper. Use a rolling pin to squeeze out
the excess water. CAREFULLY remove the wax paper.
5. Allow the new paper to dry completely. This may
take a day or two. GENTLY peel it from the
screen. Try writing on it. Write down what
happens.
DESCRIPTION:
1. What was the texture, color, odor, and so on of
the paper?
2. Was the paper easy to write on? If so, in what
ways, if any, does it need to be improved?
EVALUATION:
1. Do you feel that the effort to recycle paper is
worth the trouble? Why or why not?
2. How many times can paper be recycled?
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