How to Make Homemade Fire Wood Without Killing Trees

If you are like our household and love your trees ; possibly considering yourself a tree hugger than you'll appreciate this little tip on recycling old newspapers and magazines.

In many parts of the USA in smaller communities recycling is not a law, it is not required and it is not looked at as the right thing to do.

One community I know of personally considers recycling a privilege.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Old newspapers
• magazines
• sales fliers

1. 

   Please before proceeding recycle what you can. Many items you get in your mail box everyday; junk mail, pizza boxes and any cardboard or paper product that is soiled with grease or that shining cardboard style advertisement you got these past few months begging you to vote for someone.
   These items are not recycled but end up in the trash dumps or incinerators anyway.

2. Take your new pile of gathered paper, card board or magazines roll them up nice and tight. Make different sizes so you have starter pieces and long burning logs.

3. Next tape the rolls really tight. Make sure you use something that burns easily without releasing toxins.

4. Wet each rolled piece really well using your garden house or dipping them into a bucket.

5. Set the rolls on a rack, allowing air to flow around the entire log. Let them dry out for a few weeks and their your have your new pile of wood to burn.
   
   Wetting the newspapers while rolled up and allowing them to dry completely creates a soft wood burn log.

6. We do this very often for our camping trips. We think of it as a second form of recycling and we never buy fire wood.
   
   Saving a tree begins way before the paper process but buying fire wood that has been cut just to make a profit is something we all should reconsider.

Tips & Warnings

• We do this very often for our camping trips. We think of it as a second form of recycling and we never buy fire wood. Saving a tree begins way before the paper process but buying fire wood that has been cut just to make a profit is something we all should reconsider.
• Recycle what you can, never buy firewood from someone who just cuts down trees for a profit. Once you burn it can no longer be recycled so recycle what you can and turn what you cant into a tree huggers love for trees by saving one .

Resources

• ehow Going Green Guide

[AprilThomas]

on 12/11/2008 Good idea. I used to do that when we used our fireplace, but was always told to never use any paper with colored ink as that produced toxic fumes.

[Gardengates]

on 12/11/2008 Nice recipe for creating fire logs without harvesting more wood! Great idea!

[prism]

on 11/30/2008 I never heard of wetting newspaper logs but it makes sense. Thanks for the tip!

[bethjess39564]

on 11/29/2008 Great way to recycle the paper that the recyclers won't take.

[Rockney]

on 11/21/2008 Nice article! Go green!