MORE ABOUT MURRAY’S CRAP

Paper from waste = no wasted paper

Making paper doesn’t have to involve chopping down trees. Shocking, right? We’ve all been told that paper = trees = deforestation, and while that’s true for most paper out there, there’s a much smarter way to get the job done. Enter agricultural waste: wheat stalks, sugarcane leaves, corn husks and all those bits and pieces that farmers would otherwise toss aside, burn or bury.

Instead of letting all that good-for-nothing garbage go to waste (pun intended), some very clever people realized it could be transformed into paper. That’s right—paper made from plants that nobody was using anyway.

The dirty secret: how it's done

In short, the process goes like this: first, the agricultural leftovers are collected (so yes, someone has to haul around a lot of corn husks). Then, these materials go through a process where they’re cleaned, shredded and pulped—basically turned into mush. From there, it’s a lot like making traditional paper, except there’s no guilt about the trees we didn’t cut down. The end result? Smooth, sturdy sheets of paper that may not be white as snow, but are... full of character.

But why?

Making paper from agricultural waste has a laundry list of benefits, starting with the obvious: fewer trees get the axe. Forests are critical for clean air, biodiversity and fighting climate change, so the fewer we cut down, the better. Plus, by using leftover plant material, we’re reducing waste that would otherwise sit in landfills or get burned, polluting the air in the process. Win-win, right?

Right! And there’s more. This process also uses less water, energy and chemicals compared to traditional tree-based papermaking. And since agricultural waste is widely available, this approach can help create jobs and boost local economies, especially in rural areas. Who knew a bunch of sugarcane scraps could do so much good?

At the end of the day, using agricultural waste to make paper is one of those no-brainer ideas that makes you wonder why we weren’t doing it all along. It’s sustainable and smart, two things we at Murray Attorneys at Law gladly identify with. So, next time you’re scribbling down notes or unwrapping a package, take a moment to wonder: could this have started its life as a corn husk? If so, give it a little extra love—it earned it.