It is entirely possible to produce "logs" or "bricks" by shredding paper, soaking it in water, compressing it into a practical shape and size, then drying it.

BorgCo have designed a domestic scale unit to do just this.

It consists of a crosscut paper shredder on top of a tank. Paper waste is inserted into the shredder and falls into the water where it is soaked and softened. At the bottom, a worm drive slowly lifts the resultant pulp up through an angled perforated duct (allowing liquid to drain away and return to the tank) to a hopper, where it is transferred to a cylindrical chamber. When the chamber is filled to a set level, a piston is driven in, expelling the remaining water through small slots in the cylinder walls.

The end then slides aside, allowing the piston to push out the "log" onto a mesh tray where it air-dries until ready for use.

The unit is about the size of a small refrigerator.
-- 8th of 7, Jan 30 2016

Epson paper recycling unit http://global.epson.../news_20151201.html
[Toto Anders, Jan 30 2016]

Coincidentally I was just seeing that our "to be shredded" pile was ready for the document shredding service. I've been trying to think of an easier way to deal with this involving re-pulping the paper with water but couldn't figure out what to do with the resultant mush. This would be the way to go.

I would buy one of these.
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 30 2016


Quarter-baked. Epson went half the way (see link), except that the unit is the size of several heavy-duty refrigerators.
-- Toto Anders, Jan 30 2016


3D printer
-- JesusHChrist, Jan 30 2016


I was intigued by this idea for a few minutes as I have equipment designed to slurry up and mulch large quantities of newspaper quickly. A check of the numbers though shows that this way of making firewood wooden stack up (get it, get it?).

Old newspaper costs $100 per tonne (i actually buy 100s of tonnes annually) but beautiful, clean, dry jarrah firewood costs only $200 per tonne including free delivery. Factor the expense of turning slurried paper back into a burnable solid and you see the problem. Of course the economics could be very different in Merry Old England.
-- AusCan531, Jan 30 2016


In Merry Old England we have this stuff called oil, and other stuff called gas, and still other stuff called electricity. However, firewood (hardwood) costs about £100-130 per tonne, delivered. I have no idea how much old newsprint costs.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 30 2016


Like the bit that features driving worms. Are they not hard to train?
-- xenzag, Jan 30 2016


The training is easy; but, lacking limbs, they have difficulty operating the controls.

The basis of the system is that it allows immediate at-home recycling of surplus paper and card; junkmail, old newspapers, packaging - all can become a free source of fuel for domestic heating. No need to buy in any paper as a feedstock.
-- 8th of 7, Jan 31 2016


Another green idea from the brilliant hive mind. [+]
-- whatrock, Jan 31 2016


But can it fall in love with a trigger-happy biological search bot?
-- RayfordSteele, Jan 31 2016



random, halfbakery