Uses of Paper Bags
According to Earth911.com, Americans use nearly 10 bill paper bags each year. Between 10 and 15 percent of those bags are properly recycled. Paper bags are built to be durable and most bags can be used at least 4 times for groceries alone. Unfortunately, most paper bags are tossed after a single use, even though they have a potential for a variety of other uses.
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Removing Wax
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Paper bags can be used to remove wax from certain types of fabrics, including carpets. Simply place the paper bag directly onto the wax stain, put a T-shirt over the top of the bag to prevent the bag from catching on fire and iron the T-shirt. Rotate the paper bag around until you no longer see grease spots appearing on the paper bag and voila--no more wax stain.
Book Covers
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One of the most popular uses for brown paper bags is creating book covers. This is a great solution if you've got a lot of older children with books or college students in your home. College books are expensive protecting your investment can help the resale value. Paper bags are durable and they're made to take a beating. Plus, you can decorate them any way you'd like.
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Gift Wrap
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Paper bags are thick and great for concealing items, especially gifts. You can reuse paper bags as gift wrap. Wrapping paper can be quite wasteful, especially during holiday seasons or birthdays. Using paper bags instead of wrapping paper can help teach your kids to be more mindful of the environment. As with any paper bag project, you can easily decorate them to your liking.
Recycling
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You can use paper bags to sort your recyclables, and then recycle the paper bags while you're already at the recycling center. Sort your newspapers, magazines, glossy print pages, plastics and more into separate paper bags throughout the week before your trip to the recycling center.
You can also use brown paper bags to entice earthworms to come to your compost pile. Tear the bags up into small pieces, soak in a bucket of water and then mix into your compost pile for best results.
Paper Bags and Food
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Paper bags can also be used to keep bread fresh or ripen fruits. Placing bread into a paper bag will keep the crust crispy and the inside soft. You can also place fruits into a paper bag for a day to help speed up the ripening process. This can be done with any fruit including peaches, bananas, tomatoes and pears.
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