By Ryan Henry & Jace Cropper The Life Cycle of Paper By Ryan Henry & Jace Cropper

Where does paper come from? Trees are often harvested from tree farms. The paper can be made from the tree, or from sawmill scraps left over when larger trees are made into lumber. A second source of papermaking material is recycled fiber. Every year, about 50% of the paper Americans use is recovered for recycling and other uses.

An average American uses 465 trees to create a lifetime of paper Source An average American uses 465 trees to create a lifetime of paper

What part of the tree is paper? Paper is primarily made out of a material called cellulose Depending on species, about 40-50% of the tree consists of cellulose The question is how can you get the pure cellulose that is used to make paper?

First Step Since only the cellulose is needed, the first step is to separate the lignin and other materials from the cellulose This process is called pulping

Second Step The pulp is then highly diluted with water and then sprayed on a mesh mat

Third Step Next the mat then goes through several vacuum processes to dewater, compact, and dry it Before it is sent through the rollers it can be sprayed with different colors to create different colored paper

Fourth Step Then is sent through heated rollers to squeeze out any remaining moisture and compress the mat into paper.

Last Step Lastly the paper rolls are then cut to size and packaged for shipping to another facility for secondary processing.

Uses Paper can be used for a wide variety of things including newspapers, paper bags, origami, etc.

Disposal The average American uses more than 748 pounds of paper a year Paper is compostable, but recycling is better for the environment

Recycle 45 percent of paper in the US is recycled When it is recycled the paper goes through the process again except it also has two more steps They include De-inking, and removing impurities such as staples

Recycling Cycle

Paper Recycling Facts Paper plus cardboard combined make up 73% of the materials in the landfill. Making paper from recycled materials results in 74% less air pollution and 35% less water pollution. Recycling approximately 1 ton of newspaper saves 17 trees.

Bibliography Paper university-all about paper. (2001). Retrieved from http://www.tappi.org/paperu/all_about_paper/paperMade.htm Erin, M. (2011). Paper life cycle. Retrieved from http://thepaperlifecycle.org/ www.recycling-guide.org.uk. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.recycling-guide.org.uk/science-paper.html "how is paper made?". (2005, November 22). Retrieved from http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2231/how-is-paper-made The paper recycling process. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.paperonline.org/environment/paper-recycling/the-paper-recycling-process Waste age. (2003, September). Retrieved from http://www.id2.ca/downloads/eco-design-paper-facts.pdf