Why isn't it possible to make paper out of anything but trees?

Question

Shouldn't we have figured a way to make paper out of something else by now? What other technologies do you think we should have but don't?

Answer 1

paper was made by the Egyptians from papyrus.  If you look in a local card store you may see a greeting card brand Tree-Free Greetings  these cards are made from Kenaf.  You can make paper from ANY plant fiber  bamboo would be a great choice.  bamboo can grow FEET per day.

Answer 2

Hemp hemp hurray!Hemp hemp hurray!!!!

Answer 3

i watched this one show on Animal Planet or something that had African people making paper out of elephant p**p :/ ya it was really weird and gross, but they had no other means of making paper there except for elephant waste....

Answer 4

We can make paper out of things besides trees, it just isn't economically feasible to do so en mass.  I have 100% cotton paper that I use for proposals, but it costs about 30 cents per sheet.  Economics will answer most questions like this.  

Answer 5

why isn't it possible to make orange juice out of anything but oranges?

Answer 6

The first to use paper were the Egyptians, they made papyrus out of the reeds that grew along the Nile river. It is possible to make paper out of anything that has cellulose fibers. So almost any plant matter can replace trees. The biggest reason that we make paper out of trees is because it's so cheap. You can get a heck of a lot of cellulose from a single tree. It isn't a matter of technology, it's a matter of cost.  

Edit: Interesting fact: US "paper" currency is made from linen, not paper. That's why a dollar bill will survive the washing machine.

As far as other technologies that we should have but don't, I would say the electric car. Well, we have the technology, but there aren't very many cheap plug-ins for sale. I would love to throw some cheap solar panels on my roof, plug in an electric car, and not have to pay for gas ever again.

Answer 7

Paper has been and is made from a number of other materials.  Papyrus was made from reeds, parchment was made from calfskin, there is some papers made from bamboo, a waterproof paper made of plastics, and rag paper is mostly cotton.

Trees are commonly used because they produce the type of paper we demand - sturdy but easy to cut, friendliness to inks, cheap, and efficient.  One tree produces much more material than a low rise plant material that would cover the same surface area.

Answer 8

Yes of course you can make paper out of things other than trees.

Paper manufactured from the fibre in elephant dung is called elephant dung paper. It is 100 per cent bacteria free, 100 per cent odour free and 100 per cent recycled.

Elephants excrete as much as 50 per cent of what they eat. That, experts say, is normally between 200kg to 250kg of food a day. Since their diet is all vegetarian, the waste produced is basically raw cellulose, raw material from which paper is made

Answer 9

It is very possible, but why bother when they can just cut down trees which have a lot of paper making material in them?   To do otherwise would take more work on their part.

Answer 10

Actually the previous answer is very accurate, newspaper use to be printed on rag paper and lasted a lot longer, its the acids from wood pulp that causes paper to turn brittle and brown.

Answer 11

thats why we recycle paper and try to reduce cutting down trees

Answer 12

There is but the lumber companies are just like the petroleum any thing that challenges their dominance is considered to be cost prohibitive. They shoot it down before it gets a chance to take off.

Answer 13

It is.

The first "papers" were made from papyrus and linen and cotton have been used very successfully for centuries. Many modern countries now make their "paper" money out of plastics.

However paper from trees remains the cheapest source.

The answer lies in economics and politics, not science and technology!

Answer 14

You see, with humans, our skin is much prone to breakage. However, humans in their earlier stages, such as babies, have the perfect type of skin to use as paper. Not to mention that babies are still growing so any skin you take to use as paper simply grows back!