Five Positive Ways to Use Paper

Development

• Because it became the most popular and useful means of communicating ideas, beliefs and knowledge, paper has had an extremely positive role in the development of humans. It is believed to have first been used in China in A.D. 105 and the earliest newspaper, using wooden blocks, was printed in that country. The use of paper spread quickly along what is known as the silk trade routes and it was widely used in the Islamic Empire before it became commonly used in Europe.

Writing and Reading

• During the eras of the Roman Empire, literacy was relatively high and government and private business was conducted with the use of paper. However, the following epoch in Europe, which is often referred to as the Dark Ages, was a time when most people were unable to read and write. The only centers of learning were monasteries, where monks painstakingly hand-wrote books on paper manuscripts. Indeed, it can be argued that it was these scattered centers of learning which not only kept alive the notions of learning and educating but also that it would have far more difficult, if not impossible, without the use of paper.

Paper Airplanes

• In a slightly less serious way, paper can be used in many activities, for both children and adults. One of these is the making of paper airplanes. This can be done at many levels and can take just a moment of folding to have a plane that is aerodynamic enough to glide through the air. More sophisticated models include the "Kite," the "Ring" and the "Bat."

Papier-Mache

• Another enjoyable art form which paper can be used for is modeling with papier-mache. It is very simple and inexpensive to do. You need paper ̵1; newsprint is ideal -- an adhesive ̵1; flour mixed with water glue works well ̵1; a mold, for example balloons, bowls or plates and a release agent, for example Vaseline, cooking oil or liquid soap. You may also wish to use a paintbrush. You cut or tear the paper into strips, wet the first layer with just water and then construct your model using further layers of paper, the adhesive and your paintbrush.

Tissue Paper

• In earlier times, cotton or other materials were commonly used for personal hygiene. These might have been handkerchiefs for sneezes or towels to clean and dry your hands. Now you will be most likely to use paper tissues which have a number of advantages. These include convenience and the fact that they are disposable. Another interesting use for tissues is, again, in art. They are ideal for creating paper flowers .

Recycling

• Although an indirect use, another benefit of paper is that it has the potential to be recycled and Green Student U ̵1; a lifestyle website ̵1; notes that the process of recycling paper products uses 60 percent less energy than the process of making it from new. Of course, alongside this, and although trees can be replanted, the use of recycled paper lessens the need for timber. Indeed, the points are made that the recycling of 1 ton of paper saves one tree and that if all newspapers were to be recycled, 14 percent of landfill space in the U.S. would be freed.