All Paper Recycling, Inc.
Bye Bye By-Products!
People living in houses built entirely out of recycled newspaper and
phonebooks…using chairs that, if broken, can be smashed to a pulp only
to be crafted into another chair…landfills never receiving another
piece of
paper again...welcome to the future as proposed by Stan Shetka, creator and head of All Paper Recycling, Inc. (APR Inc.) and professor of art at Gustavus Adolphus College.
According to their mission statement, “All Paper Recycling, Inc.
believes that all wood, stone and plastic consumer products can be
replaced with products made from 100% recycled paper, cloth, and/or
plant fiber,” and they are well on their way to proving this a
possibility. Using a unique and patented process that uses no toxic
bonding agents, APR Inc. takes advantage of the natural fiber bonds
that result when fiber is mixed with water and pulped into a slurry.
All the water is squeezed out (and reused) with a press, creating
blocks that can be cut, sanded, glued, varnished, screwed, and
nailed...like regular wood. In fact, it performs similarly to pine, but
at one fifth the cost. By introducing certain additives to the pulp,
ShetkaBoard blocks can be made water-proof, insect-proof, or even flame
retardant. And all of these materials and the by-products from
production can simply be re-broken down into slurry and used to create
again.
A Creative Foundation
Stan made his first paper block as a beginning student at the
University of Minnesota. To protest a particular Art History
assignment, Stan boiled down his entire textbook to a pulp, smashed it
into a solid block, and turned it in, explaining that it was a
“different view of history – destroying history to make history.”
Legend has it that Stan received an A on that assignment.
ShetkaBoard further evolved when Stan crafted a kinetic sculpture
that ate waste paper fed to it by visitors at the gallery, and in
return spit out a hard little block of recycled paper. APR, Inc. has
grown from there into a profitable business that operates out of a 1400
square foot facility in southern MN that markets countertops, desktops,
and tables, along with picture frames, coasters, boxes, and much more.
Stan explains that this is an example of “art meeting industry” – of
art becoming utilitarian.
APR, Inc. has branched into two main materials: ShetkaBoard and
ShetkaStone. ShetkaStone is also produced from 100% post consumer waste
paper fiber, but is processed using a certain percent or glossy papers,
which by weight contain about 30% clay. Sometimes waste-plastic is
added to make it water-proof. The resulting material looks and feels
like stone, and is certified with a class “A” fire and smoke rating
without the use of chemicals. This material can also be recycled over
and over again through the same process.
A Sustainable Future
What does the future hold for ShetkaBoard and ShetkaStone? The
possibilities seem almost limitless. Plans include housing that can be
built without using any wood. The pieces would stamped out in sections
and fit together kind of like Legos. Each wall or roof section will
include interior support, insulation, sidding, and interior finishing,
with plumbing and electrical utilities already built into each panel,
so when you connect sections, electric and plumbing connect
automatically. Stan is currently working with an architect on this
design.
Another project in the works is a warehouse pallet that is 100%
percent recycled, half the weight of wood, using no screws or nails,
and which can be recycled again if ever broken. 600 million pallets are
made a year in the United States from raw material. With the end of our
supply of raw wood materials in sight, Stan’s alternative to this
demand will be both timely and accessible.
“I grew up on farm. I saw how it worked and how it changed when
herbicides and pesticides were put in. We used to fish in drainage
ditches; now there are no fish. There are birds that have disappeared.
You can’t find earthworms in the fields. Bees have disappeared: you
don’t hear them buzzing in the trees. I have seen this in my lifetime
and it’s shocking,” says Stan. With more creative people following
Stan’s lead by exploring innovative alternatives to our consumer waste,
perhaps we will see an end to the dramatic destruction of our natural
world.
All Paper Recycling, Inc.
Stanley J. Shetka
Regions:
MinnesotaOrganization type:
Business - small (<20 employees)


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