Building With Recycled Paper

Everyone knows that paper is often recycled, and has been for many years. Paper can be reused in several ways. Tightly rolled newspaper is sometimes used to make sturdy legs on small stools. And layered paper has been pressed into service (literally) for centuries as table tops and many other furniture products. Even more often, used paper is simply added to new wood-based or cotton-based pulp to make new paper products such as newsprint, cardboard or other fiber board.

But did you know that paper can be recycled right in your own home — transformed into new and useful goods? Truly functional items such as wastebaskets, decorative bowls and even tables can be made from old newspaper, for example.

You may use old paper as pulp or as layers (as in paper mache) to make items that are both functional and pleasing to the eye. Both of these paper construction methods require water and the addition of a binding agent (usually a simple starch, such as ordinary white flour). The pulp can be pressed into a mold or even shaped by hand (much as a clay) to create a desired form. Layered paper is built up, a layer at a time, creating a hollow shell on a mold (such as a plastic bowl or box).

I’ve tried out several types of home-based construction using old newspaper and other used paper. Sometimes I add other materials in addition to the paper, such as thin sticks of bamboo or wood, to help reinforce an overall structure. I built a small table in this way, and also a large freestanding sculpture. But other items, such as a wastepaper basket made from old newspapers, did not require additional support.

Paper is also been used in recent decades as an experimental construction agent in homebuilding. When used properly, and when protected from moisture (such as rain, snow and damp soil), “papercrete,” as it is often called, has already proven to be an effective building material. Most of the strength, of course, comes from the addition of cement and other agents, such as sand. But paper often makes up more than 50% of the papercrete blocks or bricks, as well as the mortar. In fact, an acceptable ratio of paper to Portland cement and sand (or pumice, if readily available) runs about 60% to 20% each of the cement and sand.

Paper used in this fashion can be used as supporting walls, in much the same way as regular cement or adobe blocks would be used. With a fire-safe ratio (such as the 60-20-20 mentioned) papercrete (or fibrous concrete, as it is also called) is considered to be much more environmentally friendly, as well as an excellent insulating material for the home.

Learning to build with paper is a relatively inexpensive and often rewarding exercise in practical recycling. Such experiments can make excellent projects for children of all ages in classroom or summer camp settings. Family-centered projects are not a bad idea, either. Building with paper can be turned into a profitable pastime for both artists and artisans who become skilled at producing beautiful and/or useful products right in the home.

Want to know more? You can use the Internet to research the subject and related topics. You can start your search by looking at my own projects that have been posted to the web. You can see all three of my paper construction experiments at http://www.jimsgraphix.com/recycle/recycle.htm . And you can begin your research into fibrous concrete (papercrete) here: http://www.goodwordusa.org/homestead/other/paper.htm .

Jim Sutton