Method
> Fill a fishtank with tap water
> Shred used paper into small pieces
> Blend with tap water until it forms a pulp mixture
> Pour the pulp into the fish tank filled with water
> Repeat until there is enough pulp in the fish tank to form a thin layer of paper pulp when passed through the screen
> Using the paper mould, remove some pulp from the fish tank, letting the water drain
> Place on a towel and let dry overnight
> Remove from the mould. This is recycled paper!
Paper is made of fibers (usually cellulose fibers derived from wood) pressed together.
Scanning electron microscope image of cross section of filter paper
When blended with water, the cellulose fibers are broken apart as water molecules disrupt the hydrogen bonds between them and they are re-suspended. Passing the pulp through the paper screen forms a thin layer of fibers on the screen. When dried, these fibers form hydrogen bonds to form a sheet of paper.
Industrial practice
Paper is mixed with water and chemicals to break it down, then heated and chopped to yield strands of cellulose. The resulting mixture is called a pulp or slurry. It is passed through screens which removes plastic or glue contaminants. The mixture is then cleaned, de-inked, bleached and mixed with water. It can then be made into new paper. The same fibers can be recycled about seven times, but the cellulose fibers get shorter each time, reducing the quality of the paper.
Benefits
Paper production accounts for about 35% of felled trees. Recycling paper saves trees. Recycling 1 ton of copier paper saves approximately 2 tons of wood. Recycling paper also uses less energy than making new paper.
We can also help by reducing our use of paper and re-using paper which reduces the need for recycling and paper manufacturing in the first place :)
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_recycling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper
http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/215422/350wm/H1000661-Filter_paper,_SEM-SPL.jpg
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