Field Trip ~ Papermill Recycling

We recently took a field trip to a paper mill where they recycle cardboard into sheets of thin paper backing for sheet rock, toilet paper rolls, tape, etc. We have been studying recycling as our community service project for the last month and since my father just happens to work at a paper mill, it was the perfect opportunity to show the boys recycling in action. The plant manager kindly offered us a tour and I have to say, it was kinda cool. The boys were in awe of the large machines and how fast they can move.

The rolls are huge as they came off of the dryers that steam them and roll them up. You can see the large, brown roll under the yellow arm thingy........

After the rolls are cut, they are sent down the line and wrapped up with tape to prepare for shipping. This robotic arm circles the paper roll to wrap the tape around it, going really fast! It sits inside a big cage and while we were standing at the cage, watching, this arm snapped towards us going 400 miles an hour! Oh my gosh, we jumped about three feet in the air. It scared the begizzies out of us! So while I am sure it didn't go that fast, some prior warning would have been nice. I mean, it's in a cage, but still...........

We had a good time, the boys liked touching the big machines and moving the switch board controls around. We had to wear glasses and earplugs and yell at each other when we talked. My tot had to get in on the action as well. He didn't get to go inside the plant, but he did get to wear the gear......

Janeen