Why reuse paper

The road to a reduction in paper usage can be bumpy. Getting management buy-in and having processes in place that are easy for employees to follow is necessary in order to change your office culture about paper usage. Here are some easy ways to start using less paper in your office. When you partner with a local recycling company like Combined Resources Inc. Almost ALL offices can benefit from a paper recycling program! Use them for notebook dividers.

This works best with oversized magazines that have pages larger than your typical piece of notebook paper. Choose one with good photography, such as Martha Stewart Living. Make a collage.

This is a great activity for kids, but even adults can have fun with it. The first task: Make an awesome collage to go on the front of your new recycled journal! Donate them. Keep a stack of small squares next to your phone for jotting down notes during phone calls. Method 2. Use it as packing material. Wrap breakable items you are packing away with used paper. Crumple up paper and use it to pack around fragile items. Used magazines and newspapers are great for packing material.

Put used paper in a compost bin. Paper will decompose over time and would be a great addition to a compost bin. Tear up your used paper and mix it into your compost to reuse it in your garden. Shred used paper for pet cage liner. Many pet cages like bunnies and hamsters use liners underneath them. You can make your own pet cage liner from used paper by shredding the paper into fine strands. Make a fire starter. Paper is a great fire starter because it burns quickly, so you can use it in your fireplace or fire pit to get the logs burning.

Crumple up 1 to 2 sheets of used paper and add them to your logs. Line the drawers of your refrigerator. Place a sheet of old newspaper on the bottom of the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator. The newspaper will help the veggies maintain the proper humidity and make cleaning up any drips easy by simply replacing the paper. Clean with old paper. Newspaper makes a great streak free wipe for windows.

You can also shine stainless steel appliances by rubbing them with a sheet of dampened newspaper. Crumpled sheets of paper can also serve as a scrubbing pad to clean the surfaces of bathrooms or counters. Method 3. Decoupage with old magazines. Use old magazines to create fun decoupaged crafts by cutting out words and pictures in the magazines and gluing them onto paper or wood. Use a decoupage glue to be able to add layers of glue without ripping the magazine paper.

Make a collage on poster board for your wall. Decorate a birdhouse. Paper accounts for about half of all recyclables collected in the United States by weight. According to the U. Environmental Protection Agency, about 43 million tons of paper and paperboard were recovered in , which is a recycling rate of about 63 percent. Even paper recycling is fairly robust, the paper is so easy and useful to upcycle it seems a shame to send it right to the bin.

Whether you choose to collect leftover flyers from a recent event or have accumulated a stack of paper bags from grocery shopping, here are eight useful ways to reuse paper around the house. Creating your own jewelry is one way to ensure that your look is unique. If you are making an effort to be more sustainable in your fashion choices , what better way than to make a necklace out of upcycled paper beads? You can easily make paper beads by following this tutorial from Spruce Crafts.

Carry your farmers market produce in a lightweight basket made from strips of paper. Save money on gardening supplies by transforming paper waste into mulch. Shred brown paper bags, printer paper or any other non-glossy paper and scatter it across the surface of your garden.