Arts & crafts: Let’s make paper!
Almost everything we do creates some sort of waste and it is affecting our beautiful planet. There are lots of ways we can help tackle waste, including recycling as much as we can.
Paper is one household item that we use a lot and often gets wasted, but it's easy to recycle. Paper is made from trees, so it is even more important to remember to write on both sides and use all the spaces before you recycle it.
Recycling is great but it is even better if you can reduce what you use and reuse what you already have.
Remember in this order… Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Let's use up some waste and make our own paper.
Things to reuse or borrow
used paper
old nylon tights
a wire coat hanger
water
old rags or towels
a blender
seeds (optional)
Instructions
Start by covering your clothes in an old shirt or apron, this could get messy!
First bend your wire coat hanger into a diamond shape and stretch one leg of the tights over it. Cut off the bit you don't need. This creates your screen.
Now tear your old paper into small pieces of around 2cm. You can use newspapers, magazines, junk mail or just paper that you've already written on.
Put your pieces of torn paper into the blender until it is around half full.
Add a little water to the blender and start to mix. Gradually add more water until you paper mix has a soup-like consistency. At this stage you could add some flower seeds to the mix.
Place a colander into your sink and lay your screen on the top. Very carefully pour your paper mix onto the screen and then gently spread it out. Remember it doesn't need to cover the whole screen. Now leave the mix to drain for around 30 minutes.
Lay an old towel on your work surface and carefully flip your screen onto the towel, so your paper is now lying on the towel. Use another dry towel to gently press down on top to remove any more water, keep repeating this until your paper is very nearly dry.
At this stage, you can either leave your paper to dry naturally or you can use an iron to speed up the process. This will also flatten out your paper. If you decide to use an iron, first put your paper between two towels and remember to get an adult to help you.
Your paper is now ready... you can tidy up the edges to make it look a little neater. Why not use it to write a letter to a friend (and if you put seeds in the paper, remember to remind them to plant it afterwards).
This recipe is taken from our our world is changing themed Tool Kit For Eco Heroes.
Each of our themed Tool Kits are packed with hours of activities to gently teach children (and their families) about our environment. Find out more here.