The objectives of this study were to introduce low cost and alternative raw materials for handmade paper production industries. In this study, wastepaper, recycled pulp and paddy straw were used as raw materials. Paddy straw was processed by bio-pulping and bio-bleaching. These raw materials were mixed into different ratio and papers were produced using very simple and eco-friendly method termed as “handmade method”. It was found that the papers produced from the mixture of wastepaper and paddy straw are similar to the standard of “Printer Paper”. The thickness of the produced handmade papers ranged from 156 to 160 μm. The Grams per Square Meter (GSM) of the produced handmade papers ranged from 170 to 185 g/m²; burst index ranged from 4.15 to 4.95 kPam²/g and tensile index ranged from 71 to 88 Nm/g. It was shown that the raw materials which were used in this study are very cost effective and it requires 0.63-0.71 BTD (0.008-0.009 USD) to produce A4 (8.27”×11.69”) size handmade paper. Also, it was found that the quality of handmade paper sample which was produced by mixture of 80% wastepaper and 20% paddy straw is comparatively good and it requires the lowest cost among the other produced samples which is 0.63 BTD (0.008 USD) per A4 size paper. This study showed that wastepaper and paddy straw can be the reasonable alternatives for handmade paper production industries.

Key words: Wastepaper, paddy straw, recycling, eco-friendly, handmade paper.
 

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