What To Do With Waste Paper? Reusing paper the right way!7 min read

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Venkatesh

Founder at The Conscious Humans

Hey there, I'm Venkatesh and I hail from the City of Nawabs- Lucknow. I started my journey in environmental activism and volunteering from 2019. Have more than 3+ years of on-ground experience and leading teams. My motive? To bring out new ideas and spread awareness on topics regarding climate change and leading a sustainable lifestyle.

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Did you know that paper accounts for 26% of the total waste at landfills?

Paper production causes deforestation, cause paper comes from trees, you know that right? It uses tremendous amount of energy and water in production contributing to air and water pollution as well. From our notebooks to newspapers and bills, everything is made of paper. Even though mobile phones, laptops and similar electronic gadgets have made people go digital there is still a lot to be done when it comes to using less paper. It takes 10 litres of water to make one sheet of A4!

It takes almost double the energy to produce paper than it takes to produce plastic. With plastic ban taking place globally, a cheap and so to speak ‘sustainable‘ alternative to plastic bags and cups is paper, which means more production of paper, more cutting of trees, more emissions and even more wastage. Yeah, it might not be looking scary enought but it is!

You might be wondering, with all the hopelessness regarding deforestation and astronomical paper usage, what should we do? How can we help and do our part? Well, there is a lot that can be done. From reusing old newspapers for covering notebooks to making some very unique art and craft from waste paper and recycling paper at your own home, the possibilities are endless!

The Three R’s

We’ll be applying the simple concept of the three R’s- Reuse, Recycle and Reduce. Let us first get accustomed with the terms.

Re-using means using the items that you consider waste and would probably throw in the bin, in an innovative way- till their very last breath. Recycle is basically processing used or waste items as to make it possible for reuse. Now don’t be confused, there is a thick line between Reuse and Recycle. In reusing there are negligible changes in the waste item and we use it for another useful purpose whereas in recycling, we process the waste item to create a new item altogether. Gotcha? The last R Roarsss- Reduce. The best way to fight the problem of waste to lessen the use of any particular item. Go paperless, go digital. The little gadget that we hold in our hands has all the facilities that we need. It saves time too, right?

Let’s talk about the ways we could apply these three R’s practically and efficiently.

Covering your notebooks/files with old newspapers and used chart papers

This one is for all the students who are probably gonna head to the stationary shop to buy those covers for your copy. Ever noticed that almost all the covers that are available in the market have a thin cellophane sheet wrapped all along? Well, either than spending your money on trivial things, make use of the newspapers resting in dust at your home.

You can even use old chart papers to cover your notebooks or files. To be honest, there is no actual harm in using these two items. By using old newspapers or old chart papers you’re reusing and saving extra expenditure whilst saving the planet from even more waste. Good to go!

Art and Craft

There are literally so many ways we can use waste paper to create items that are useful and easy to make. Yeah we know some of you might not be good at it but it’s alright. Even I got scolded by my art teacher back when I was in the 7th grade and to be honest I hate it. But when it comes to making something creative from waste, I’m always up for it.

We’ll give you some very awesome ideas that you’ll love to carry out at your Home- Pen Stand, Paper Basket, Table organizer, Newspaper Jar, Paper wall art and so much more. Watch this video below to get more ideas and tutorial on how to DIY craft items made completely from waste paper!

Paper Bags

Bags, bags, bags, we carry them along for shopping, for bringing groceries and food and for storing stuff when we’re travelling. If it’s of so much utility to all us then why not make one for ourselves!

Interesting and easy, right? Now get to work people!

Use partially used notebooks in a productive way

Often it happens that we couldn’t use all the pages of a notebook that was meant for a particular subject. We tend to buy another notebooks and A4 pages without the thought that we can make use of the pages that are already left in the old notebooks. What to do about it then?

You can either use those pages of the notebook for rough work or you can tear the pages of the notebook in a neat manner to make a new notebook altogether! If you feel like make a daily schedule or just want to scribble your thoughts somewhere make use of these notebooks. What is the catch here? You’re saving paper and in turn saving even more trees by reducing your ‘paper footprint’. Sound cools to me!

Recycle paper at your home

This one is for people who are feeling a little adventurous at the moment and want to create some amazing stuff from used papers- Handcrafted recycled papers at your own home! All you need is a mixer grinder and if you don’t have that- no worries, we got a hack for you as well. Watch this video below!

If you have a blender and want to save some time, watch this DIY tutorial!

Yes, we agree that the process is a bit cumbersome but it’s totally worth the efforts. Once you’re done with the feat, make sure to share it on your social media platforms to inspire others as well!

Donate waste paper to recycling facilities/scrap dealer

Almost all the newspaper manufacturers have a recycling facility set up in the outskirts of the city. You can ask your newspaper provider for the location or opt for the home-pickup facility, if available. You can also handover the waste paper to the scrap dealers.

The catch? Yeah, yeah, we’re coming to that part you hasty beings. Per-kilo amount of waste paper that you hand over to the recycling facility/scrap dealer, you get a particular amount of cash. So, instead of considering the waste as useless and worthless, go do the honours of collecting all the old notebooks, papers and bills, and hand them over to earn whilst saving the planet too! Sounds like a win-win to me.

That’s about it, we have prepared the whole platter in front of you, now the time is for you to take up the task of saving paper and following the atleast one of the three R’s. It’s definitely going to make a difference, taking small steps is what matters the most. So without more overthinking and procrastination, go do your part in saving the trees. Go eco-champs!