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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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?

5. 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

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

7. 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

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

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

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

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

12. 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

13. Recycling Cycle

14. 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.

15. Bibliography
Paper university-all about paper. (2001). Retrieved from
Erin, M. (2011). Paper life cycle. Retrieved from
(n.d.). Retrieved from
"how is paper made?". (2005, November 22). Retrieved from
The paper recycling process. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Waste age. (2003, September). Retrieved from