Paper is an example of a valuable material that can be recycled. Newer research proves that paper was already produced 200 years prior. Beside the already mentioned non-wood papermaking fibers, hemp, rags and fishing nets were used as basis of material for the first recycled paper. Paper has its name from the papyrus plant. In Ancient Egypt about 4,000 years ago, papyrus’s leaves were pounded horizontal and used to write on. The furtive of paper production was protected for many years. The Japanese got to recognize it only in the year 610 A.D. The art of making paper spread gradually all over the world; it came to the Arab world by the eighth century via the Middle East to Spain. In Europe, the first paper was produced in the 12th century.

The raw material for making paper is principally trees; it is a common misconception that recycling waste paper saves trees. Trees are grown for commercial use and harvested as a long term crop with new trees planted to reinstate those cut down. In addition, papermakers are able to use the parts of the trees that cannot be used in other industries such as edifice and furniture making. Different species of trees give fibers that are used in different types of paper. Coniferous softwoods such as spruce, pine birch and cedar produce fibers which are long (average fiber length is 3mm) and are used to make papers which have a lot of potency. Hardwoods such as birch and aspen do not grow as fast as softwoods and produce short fibres (average fiber length 1mm) which are used for bulky papers such as writing paper and fluting, which is the middle part of cardboard. Almost all paper is made from wood grown in forests.