Paper is such a ubiquitous commodity. It’s everywhere, every day, in everything. We eat on paper plates and wipe our mouths with napkins. We write letters and send them in envelopes. We fax each other, we leave each other Post-Its, we sign forms and checks. We toss out junk mail. We flip through magazines. Paper inundates almost every single practical activity of our lives. And no wonder– America is a huge exporter. In fact, the paper industry employs roughly 1.15 million workers in the US alone— coming in only slightly under McDonald’s worldwide worker count of 1.5 million. Every year, the average American uses 700 pounds of paper.
So what are we doing with it all? And what are we doing with all the waste?
You’d be surprised.
COUNTERTOPS
PaperStone, Richlite, and various other eco-friendly manufacturers are using paper to create surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms. The effect is absolutely stunning. When I first read about paper counters, I was kind of envisioning cardboard stapled to a cabinet, but these are rich, uniform, and posh.
These counters are stain, water, and heat resistant (to 350 degrees), and cuts can be sanded out. Unlike some granite, they emits no radon gases. And yes, they’re really made of paper: recycled paper, to be exact, sealed with a phenolic resin.
It costs about $30 a square foot, pricing it competitively among other solid surfaces.
FURNITURE
Likewise, the rest of the house can be outfitted in recycled paper. Way Basics boasts a line of modular cubes, which serve as environmentally-responsible storage.
If you’re looking for something practical and whimsical, Molo’s softseating is right up your alley. Softseats are made of durable, unbleached– what else?– paper, and are able to be folded up and stored, accordion-style, when not in use. They can be configured to any layout, room, or mood.
For the younger mod crowd, there’s the FIY (Finish It Yourself) junior chair. The chair comes packaged as a pop-out puzzle that a child can fit together themselves, and then use in every day play. When they outgrow it, you can always recycle it. (Although with a price tag of a hundred dollars, you probably won’t want to.)
INSULATION
So now we’ve decorated the inside of your house, but how about keeping it energy-efficient? In 2011, Ecovative will begin offering Greensulate, an insulation made of rice hulls, mushrooms, and recycled paper. It has a class 1 fire rating, which makes it safer than synthetic foams (watch a blowtorch video here, it’s awesome), and has no VOCs. It’s chemical free, and safe to the touch. Current estimates put it cost competitive with traditional foam.
TOYS
We’re playing with paper, too! This is the area I have the most expertise in, because we’ve had great luck with environmentally friendly toys. First off, I can’t sing the praises of Smencils enough. They come in an array of colors, and they’re scented, which is a bonus for pretty much any kid (or adult). Ours always seemed a little larger to me than the average pencil: not unwieldy, but nice and sturdy. Smencils are made from 100% recycled newspapers, and biodegradable plastic. Nice little stocking stuffer.
These I haven’t bought yet, but I’ve been eyeing for awhile: the Totem City Building Set. Made of recycled laminate cardboard, these are a paper alternative to something like K’nex. Lined with slots, the pieces can fit together in a number of different ways– the kit gives you instructions and suggestions, but it also allows free play. The pieces are just cool-looking, too; covered in images of space, symbols, metal, wood, and fire.
And the number one thing over here– since we got a printer, especially— has been free papercraft on the internet. Papercrafting is the building of models out of paper. Some are simple, some are complex, some are stationary, some are mechanical (yes, they actually move). I tend to like the decorative papercrafts, like this tattooed elephant:
But my kids are fond of bright, large scale crafts like Sanrio’s paper town:
Or models of their favorite video game characters:
Oh! And Halloween is one of the BEST holidays to get awesome papercrafts. Last year, my kids and I did one almost every day of the month. This is a comprehensive list of totally free, totally rad Halloween-themed crafts and goodies that you can snag for your own family. My favorite— which we didn’t get to build yet, because the scope of these is insane– are Ray Keim’s haunted house models.
(The last two could totally double as creepy dollhouses. I think The Haunted Experience’s Demon Clock would work nicely inside.)
So– that’s about it from me today. I’m basically paper-ed out. Heh. I guess my bottom line is just to enjoy the paper in your life. Use it. Rethink it. Build with it. Create beautiful things with it. And then, when it’s served its purpose, recycle it so another purpose can be found.
I had no idea there was so much going on with paper! Those counter tops are lovely and the haunted houses are AWESOME.
Hmm, enviromentally healthy AND interesting and cool. I’d love some of those paper-counter tops, or the maze like softseating!
What a great post! I want to buy those Smencils, but the site I looked as had them on backorder… very cool stuff here! Feels good to recycle.