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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Make Your Own Recycled Paper!


It's not too hard to make recycled newspaper. Do you want to try it? Check with the adults in the house - this is a messy experiment. Make sure that they're OK with you using items from the kitchen to recycle the paper. You might also want to do part of this experiment outside.

What You'll Need:
Newspaper
Water
Eggbeater or electric mixer
Plastic wrap
Large metal pan
Mixing bowl
Cheesecloth
Large spoon
Paper towels
Rolling pin
Paper clips, binder clips, or clothespins

Separate the newspaper and take out 3-6 full sheets. Tear these sheets into little pieces about 1 inch (2.5 cm) square, and put them into the bowl. Add enough water to just cover all the newspaper. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it somewhere safe overnight.

After at least 12 hours, remove the plastic wrap and add a little more water. Now, here's where it can get messy - mix the wet paper with an egg beater or electric mixer until it makes a smooth , mushy substance. This substance is called paper pulp. Lay the cheesecloth out flat in the bottom of the large metal pan. Pour some of the pulp over the cheesecloth and use the rolling pin or the back of the spoon to smooth out the pulp so that is makes a thin, even layer. In the meantime, spread out several sheets of newspaper and cover with some paper towels.

Lift the cheesecloth (someone may need to help with this step), so that the water drips out into the pan. Once most of the dripping has stopped, lay the cheesecloth and paper on top of the newspaper and paper towels. Cover with more paper towels and use the rolling pin to get even more water out. Make sure to have plenty of extra towels to sop up all the water!

Take off the top layer of paper towels and let the recycled paper dry for at least 30 minutes. Turn it over carefully, using the cheesecloth, and let the other side dry for another 60 minutes (you may need to replace the newspaper and bottom towels, too). After the paper has dried for a total of about 90 minutes (30 on the first side, 60 on the second), try lifting it off the cheesecloth. If it starts to tear, leave it until the next day, and try again then. If it doesn't tear, peel the cheesecloth off, and use paper clips, binder clips, or clothespins to hang the paper up somewhere to dry completely. Once the paper is dry, you can write or color on it!

Recycling is important, but as you can see from this experiment, sometimes it is a LOT of work!!

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