“Paper… pure paper!” I think that crazy guy in the epic film “Waterworld” said it best when he uttered those immortal lines about paper. But how can the people in “Waterworld” make paper when there ain’t no trees? Easy. They recycle paper, and now you can to. Here’s how to recycle paper into homemade paper.

First, you gots to make your paper frame. Use some leftover wood and make a rectangle; whatever size this frame is is the size your homemade paper shall be.

Staple some old window screen across the frame, stretching it tightly. There, your frame be done. Now you’re ready to make you some homemade paper, hot dang!

First, get a bunch of scrap paper (some call it scratch paper, whatever floats your boat). Also, feel free to add some of the following:

• newspaper
• lint
• toilet paper (gently used)….. just kidding on that one!!
• paper bags

Remember, whatever you put in will affect the color and texture of your finished paper, so for the love of Pete, be careful in selecting your ingredients for your homemade paper.

Tear up the paper into lil’ pieces.

Put the torn-up paper into a blender, filling it about halfway. Fill the rest of the blender with warm water.

Blend the mess out of that paper, starting with short burts, and finishing with a 20-second blend that purees the paper into a pulpy soup.

Do this about three times, each time pouring the blended paper soup into a basin or tote.

Afterward, put in some more warm water, filling the basin about halfway. Add about two tablespoons of corn starch, too.

Stir the pulp around, then dip your wood frame into the pulp all the way to the bottom. Slowly raise it up, keeping it level. Your screen should be covered with pulp now.

Let it dry somewhere. Once the frame stops dripping, sort of peel the paper around the edges.

Next, gently peel the very wet paper away from the frame. Slap that bad boy on some felt. Fun fact: I got my felt for 20 cents, and it’s made from recycled plastic. Ta-dow.

Use a sponge and try to squish excess water out. Once you’ve done that, let it dry on the felt.

Let all the paper completely dry on the felt or some newspaper.

Voila, recycling old useless paper into new homemade paper is just that easy. If you want to get fancy (and these days, who doesn’t?), try embedding some crazy mess in your paper (feathers, leaves, pictures cut out of a newspaper). Your friends will be TOO jealous of your customized paper, maybe even jealous enough… to kill?

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You may have heard about these new-fangled CFL bulbs. They last up to ten times longer than incandescent light bulbs, use only about 25% the energy (so they cost one-fourth the amount of money to run), and they produce 90% less heat (waste) than an incandescent bulb, so you get more light per watt!

But I digress. When these CFL bulbs eventually die, you can’t just throw them away, since they have some mercury in them. You have to take them to special CFL bulb collection places. I had to do this recently, and found these easy places to safely get rid o’ CFLs.

* Call your garbage service and ask them
* IKEA
* Home Depot
* If all those fail, check out Earth911, they should be able to help.

Good luck recycling them CFLs. Truly, you are on the path to being an eco-hero.

written in association with fluorescent light recycling experts

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Deep in the sprawling Peck Estates there is a meandering brook, full of plants, wildlife, and brisk, babbling water. Whenever I grow weary of my toils to better this planet called Earth, I cast my eyes upon this creek, and tears of wonder carve clean trails down my dusty face.

But it’s not “all good in the hood”, as Mister Rogers would say. Over the last month or so, I’ve cleaned out a LOT of litter just from my small part of the creek. The litter has ranged in size from tiny shards of broken glass to a metal chair to a freaking stop sign.

After cleaning all that mess out, me and Tiff decided to make some creek animals out of the junk, since all the trash had come from the creek. What follows may shock and even horrify you. Prepare to look upon the creek creatures.
CLICK THE PICTURES TO SEE A BIGGER PICTURE

Glassy the Turtle

Tiff’s abstract masterpiece.

Turkey Thing

Made from a gen-u-ine 40 bottle (and maybe an old racquetball?).

Glass Frog

If you use your imagination, this pile of reused glass might look remotely like a frog.

Simple Snail

Another Tiff creation. My blurry picture does not do this glass snail justice.

Parrot with Coke Bottle Body

He’s all spirally and mess.

Snake made from Broken Glass

That’s his tongue on the left.

Glass Hell Monkey

Its tail is made from a LipSmackers brush. He is one menacing mamma jamma.

We recycled all the leftover broken glass and old cans and bottles. All in all, it was a good way to reuse some litter, and make some “art” from it. If anyone else has done cleaned up litter from a creek or stream and made something from it, por favor let me know!

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