Recycled Paper Fire Bricks

For Christmas, my sister gave me a Paper Fire Brick press.  At first I didn't know what it was or that even such a thing existed.  What is it you ask?  It is a press that will take recycled paper materials and press them into a brick shape that you can use in your fireplace instead or in addition to firewood. 

I think my husband was more excited about this than I was.  In our house we go through A LOT of paper material on a weekly basis.  I alone go through about 3 boxes of cereal, we get three newspapers on Sunday for the coupons, and then there is all the scrap paper and junk mail that we get too.  Now instead of recycling it (which isn't as great as it is made out to be, because recycling is still an industrial process that uses chemicals, inefficient garbage trucks, and lots of fossil fuel; but more on that later), I can now reuse it to keep me warm.

How do you make a Paper Fire Brick?   You take any paper material (except magazines), so that means junk mail, newspaper, printer paper, scrap paper, wrapping paper, old Christmas cards, cereal boxes, toilet paper roll, etc. and tear or shred them into 1/2" wide strips.  Take those strips and place them in a bucket full of water and let sit for two days.  After the paper material has gotten mushy, take the pieces and place it into the brick press and squeeze out the excess water.  Let the brick dry for at least two weeks and use in the fireplace.  It's that easy!   The biggest issue is letting the bricks dry so that they will burn better, we have found a good solution for the winter time.  Take a cookie wire race and place it over the heater vent; it will dry the bricks faster while still heating the home.  During the summer, just leave them on a porch to let them sun dry. 

You can buy it for about $25.  The one we have is made by Northern Industrial Tools, and we like it so far.  The only draw back, is that once you press the logs, they are had to get out of the mold.

 (We don't have cats, but took this bucket from a neighbors recycle bin, washed it out and it works great for our soaking paper.  Someday I will cover it and make it look pretty)

 ( These are some of our first bricks that are drying over our heater vent, under a side table)

 (At first we tried drying them outside, but because of winter, they took too long to dry and would freeze)

 (Here I am pressing a brick)

 (Ta-da!)

 (Our bricks are very colorful because of all the recycled Christmas wrapping paper)

 (Stuff the brick mold)

(Press it down)

 (Lift it out of the mold, and there you have a fire brick)