Crumple was an event organized by my fellow batchmates as their CAS project. The purpose of this event was to promote the usage of recycled paper and teach students how to make the same using common household materials such as paper waste and water. A 4 step process was followed to make the recycled paper: 1) Mix waste paper into the water along with glue as a binder. 2) Create a slurry of the paper waste. 3)Strain the slurry in a mesh mold. 4) De-mold the paper and let it dry.

Learning Objective 2

Due to the nature of the mix and the difficulty of distributing it as A4 paper, the process is rather tedious and monotonous. But working together makes the task faster and easier, which is why we were able to make more than 50 sheets in an hour. We divide the tasks into groups of 2. One fills the jar with the mixture, the other person spreads the mixture over the sieve, and as they do, the first person lifts the edge of the sieve and gently turns it over the blanket for drying. Teamwork reduced the process from 5 minutes per sheet to less than 2 minutes per sheet. It was hard at first to work with someone on such a precarious and delicate task. But eventually, we got into a rhythm that allowed for better execution and teamwork

Learning Objective 6

This activity is very important as waste paper is almost always discarded and sometimes recycled into paper bags. But this method gives us a viable way to make usable writing papers. This is a huge opportunity because paper comes from trees and the rampant global paper consumption is a significant contributor to deforestation. Current technologies produce roughly 1 ton of paper for 10,000 tree cuts. This process of recycling waste paper is not perfect and still uses glue as a resource, but at the same time, the amount of paper that can be reused in this way represents a ray of hope and a viable path for change.

Learning Objective 7

Overall, this activity has been a beneficial learning experience for me. First of all, I discovered that used paper that has been discarded can still be used. Second, I discovered that effective teamwork can make any effort simpler and quicker, regardless of the task at hand. Last but not least, I discovered that while denouncing climate change and deforestation is simple to discuss and brag about, doing so, in reality, is a far trickier and more delicate undertaking.