Five Practical Gadgets That Reuse Waste Paper
2. Junk Mail Letter Opener
Image via Plant Brooklyn
Like some kind of weird circle of life, this handmade letter opener from Plant Brooklyn (a Brookyln-based design team consisting of Holly McWhorter and Bjarke Ballisager) helps you open the very new mail that was used to make it. The blade of this simple tool is constructed from a fusion of 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper and a clear, 100 percent water-based resin made using cashew nut shells. The handle is made of solid, locally grown poplar, with a polished steel center screw.
3. Origami Camping Pot
Image via Energia-USA
Energia’s Hexa Pot solves the age old problem of excessive weight and clunky shape that plague most backcountry camp stoves. Made entirely from paper, the pot is designed to travel completely flat and then fold into a pot shape after you’ve made camp for the night. Even if accidentally left on the trail, Energia says the pot is 100 percent biodegradable and should break down within two or three years.
4. DIY Paper iPhone Dock
Image via Julien Madérou
Tired of shelling out top dollar for Apple-approved charging docks and accessories? Open source to the rescue. French designer and freelancer Julien Madérou created this all-paper alternative, perfect for those who love DIY and hate leaving their iPhone to dangle listlessly from the charging cord. Even better, it only costs $5 to download the instructions.
5. P&P Office Waste Paper Processor
Image via Chengzhu Ruan, Yuanyuan Liu, Xinwei Yuan & Chao Chen/Yanko Design
Ignore the snooze-worthy name. This little device is your very own desktop pencil factory, turning used office paper into free writing implements right before your very eyes. All you have to do is add glue and lead pencil refills (like the kind you use for those clicky pencils?) into their respective compartments. Then feed a piece of used paper into the machine, where it gets tightly wound around the lead while glue is dispensed to make sure it all adheres tightly. Use different types of paper for personalized pencils that double as great conversation starters.
Well those are some of the niftiest little paper-based gadgets we could find. What did we miss? If you know of a clever way to keep paper out of the recycling bin, share it with us in a comment!
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