What is Paper?

Paper is instantly recognisable and used around the world to record writing and to print books and newspapers.

It is a thin sheet material made from any type of cellulose (wood, rags, grass or other vegetable matter).

Papermaking was invented by Cai Lun in China in 105BC. Tiny pieces of paper made from hemp fibres still exist.

Paper was made from recycled rags, until the mid 19th century when the wood pulp making process was invented.

You can also find out about card and cardboard.

Discover

Reduce

Find out how to reduce paper use

Reuse

Find out how to reuse paper

Recycle

Find out about paper recycling

Activities

What’s Useful, Recycled and Biodegradable?

2 April 2020/by Lucy Mottram

Summer holiday activity: Got magazines? Make recycled beads!

20 July 2020/by Lucy Mottram

Paper Worksheets

Make nets for 3D shapes

8 December 2021/by Lucy Mottram

Papermaking

Global Issues

Climate Change
Sustainable Development Goals
Circular Economy
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Image of trees with the following text: Paper facts! Worldwide, 4 billion trees are cut down every year for paper. That's one per cent of the Amazon Rainforest - every single year.
Tree blossoms image with the text: It takes 24 trees to make one tonne of paper.
Background image of lightbulbs with the following text: It takes 70% less energy to recycle paper than it does to make it new from raw materials.
Orange background with the text: In the UK, we use over 9.9 million tonnes of paper each year. We recycle around 80% of it. Paper is one of the most recycled materials in the UK today.
Background image is the closeup of a world map. The text reads: In Europe, paper is recycled on average 3.8 times, which is above the world average of 2.4 times. 55% of the fibre used by the European Paper Industry comes from recycled paper.
Background image is a ripple of water. Text reads: Each tonne of recycled paper saves 1800 litres of oil and 32,000 litres of water. It takes around 10 litres of water to make just one sheet of A4 paper.
Background image of presents on a wooden floor. The text reads: Every Christmas, it is estimated that we throw away over 227 thousand miles rolls of wrapping paper in the UK. That's enough to cover over 11,000 football pitches.