Fun Facts
Fun Facts & Activities
Recycling One Ton of Newsprint:
- Saves 601 kWh of energy
- Saves 1.7 barrels (71 gallons) of oil
- Saves 10.2 million Btu’s of energy
- Saves 4.6 cubic yards of landfill space
- Saves 7,000 gallons of water
- Saves 34 to 60% of the total energy needed for virgin newsprint.
- Saves 17 trees 35 feet tall.
- Nearly 7 of every ten U.S. newspapers are being recycled.
- Reduces air and water pollution by 50%
Do the Math
Trash per person is around 450 lbs vs 650 lbs in mid-1990s.
Paper and paperboard weights share down to 35% from 50% in the mid-1990s.
The amount of paper trashed is 150lbs vs 300 lbs in the mid-1990s.
That means 50% less paper is going to the landfills.
Let’s work on the other 50%.
How to Make the Paper
Ingredients: Old newspaper, mail, printer paper (avoid paper with a coating like magazine papers) large bowl, warm water, blender, kitchen towel, screen* to strain the pulp (*attach wire mesh or strong netting to a frame the size of the paper you want to make, and small enough to fit in your bowl)
1. Shred or tear the paper to half fill your blender
2. Add warm water to the top and blend until smooth
3. Put contents into a bowl and mix with more warm water (amount of water effects thickness of paper)
4. Dip the screen into the bowl so that the pulp collects evenly across the screen’s surface
5. Let the water drain away and pat excess with kitchen towel
6. Press another piece of kitchen towel against the pulp sheet and carefully peel away from the screen
7. Allow to dry and then remove from the paper towel
Enjoy and be creative, experimenting with different types of paper, glitter, confetti, dried flowers, food dye for color and herbs and fragrance!
$GO GREEN GET GREEN$
By recycling Newspapers, Magazines, Catalogs, Office Paper
and Shredded Paper with SP Recycling Southeast
RECYCLING LINKS
Earth 911
Georgia Recycling Coalition
Florida DEP
Keep America Beautiful
American Forest and Paper Assoc
Recycle Florida Today
Dekalb Recycles
