Handmade Paper
Paper Analysis or How Much Work is Making Paper?
The Ecology Club members have created over one hundred pieces of recycled paper! What is the cost? The answer includes resources and labor.
Resources Labor (work & time)
thrown away white copy paper -- tear into 1 inch pieces
scraps of colored construction paper --tear by hand into 1 inch pieces
electric blender --electric outlet
two cups of water for every 8x11 sheet --pour into blender and grind into pulp
water tubs --pour slurry into tubs
screens, drainers, and wooden frames --dip frames with screens for each paper
sponges --sponging excess water from wet paper
towels --dry each new paper sheet inside towels
* iron new formed paper to dry OR
air dry between towel layers
broom/dust pan --clean debris from paper pulp
--peel paper from drying racks
Summary
Paper making takes: one piece of 8"x11" recycled paper, 1 cup of water, 2 Tablespoons of colored paper, plus the energy of a blender to grind the mixture 22 seconds, overnight to air dry
Creates: 3 pieces of softly colored 8" x5 1/2" sheets of paper.
During recess times on Mondays and Wednesdays, Ecology Club students are busy recycling and recreating paper. Copy, lined note book, and construction paper used in the fourth grade is being torn to bits and being remade into a variety of paper objects for use.
Green tinted paper sheets are coming off the production line this week --1/25 - 1/29
Purple tinted copy and glossy magazine are on line for week --2/1 - 2/5
