Recycle Newspapers in Your Home
September 7, 2009 by Katelyn Thomas
Filed under Home & Living
Yes, you can read the news online, but there’s just something about enjoying the morning paper with a cup of tea on the porch with nary a laptop in sight. Unfortunately, then you have a paper to recycle. You can go the easy route and just bundle it up to drop off at your recycling center, but I think it is fun to reuse the paper in other ways, too. Here are a few ways to recycle newspapers in your home:
Photo: Sanja Gjenero/SXC
- Compost – Newspapers will break down well in the compost pile.
- Bedding – Worms will enjoy rooting around in strips of newspaper as they chow down on your table scraps.
- Papier mache – Your kids can make sculptures and you can make puppets or pinatas with this versatile material.
- Pots for baby veggies – I see tools to make these in some of the plant catalogs, but I’ve folded my own newspaper pots without any tools whatsoever. It is a really great way to start plants from seed that don’t do well if they are transplanted because you can simply plant the entire pot in the ground and let it decompose.
How do you reuse your newspaper?
I can’t help but weigh in on this important issue. I’m firmly on the side of recycling newspaper into art. Specifically paper mache art. There is nothing quite as satisfying as taking material that you use every day and turning them into something that you’ll treasure for many years, like a dragon, a gargoyle, or even a fish. I’m not trying to be self-serving here. After all, I am a paper mache artist. But this message must get out. If you need convincing, visit my website (www.GourmetPaperMache.com) or my blog (www.PaperMacheMan.com). Please.
Dan (the Monster Man)Reeder