5 Things to know about Paper – Essay for Kids

Paper emerged as one of the revolutionary inventions of mankind. It’s a source to record and display human intelligence. Though digitization is sweeping the 21^st century world, yet no one can beat the usefulness of papers. Paper is used for writing letters, bills and legal documents, stamps, currency notes etc. No office, school can do without paper. In some form or other, we use it every day. It is also used in making paper plates, in wrapping parcels and decorating the walls of our rooms. 

Large quantities of paper are used in printing books and newspapers on a daily basis. Paper thus helps in spreading knowledge. Ancient people could not spread the vast knowledge they earned so easily because there was no paper or printing press while tree leaves, barks and inscription of stones were not viable options.

1. How paper is made?

Bamboo, timber, rags, grass, and other similar materials are used to make paper. In a paper mill, all of this is converted to dust like fine particles. After that, it’s brought to a boiler filled with liquid and heated. It looks like murky stuff after it’s done. Pulp is the name for the mud-like substance. After that, the pulp is cleansed and subsequently, it’s bleached. When some dye is added to the pulp, it becomes a different colour. As a result, we end up with paper that is red, blue, green, or yellow. The pulp is spread out thinly like a sheet of paper. After that, it’s dried and sliced into various-sized pieces. Following that, we receive paper. Below is an animated video to help you understand the process better.

2. Different kinds of paper

Paper has different varieties of these, some are polished and fine, others are coarse. Paper is made to serve different purposes. Thus, we have writing paper, drawing paper, printing paper, packing paper, news print etc. There are different qualities of paper. Some are cheap while the rest are expensive. In some villages paper is made without the help of any machines. It is made entirely by hand to stop such paper being coarse.

3. Things used before paper was invented

Formerly people across the world used to write on the leaves of certain trees, because at that time nobody knew how to make paper. Palm leaves were then used for this purpose. Even now many secret books of the Hindus are sometimes printed on Palm leaves.

4. How producing paper is creating pollution?

It is interesting to note that the life cycle of paper is actually damaging to the environment from beginning to end – from cutting a tree to creating it, till end of its life by being burned – emitting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Also, paper production uses up lots of water. For example, an A4 paper requires 10 liters of water. And as the pulp that gets piled up in paper mills is discharged in the rivers or nearby surrounding the dissolved organic matter called lignin, alcohol, inorganic material such as cholates, chlorine and metal compounds becomes a part of the environment. All these contribute to soil and water pollution. More on the video below.

5. How to reduce wastage of paper

Below are 6 easy ways to reduce wastage of paper:

i) Keep all of your documents in soft copy and only print when absolutely essential.

ii) When printing a document, make sure you use both sides of the paper.

iii) Please conserve the stationery and do not print the e-mails unless absolutely essential.

iv)If necessary, we can print any document on the blank side of scrap sheets.

v) Promote awareness of paper conservation among our friends and society.

vi) Increase the amount of scrap paper recycled.

As we conclude judicious use of paper is critical to save mother nature from further degradation.