Paper pencil: an alternative to traditional pencil to reduce waste and

pollution by using rice hulls and paper waste.

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction
Recycled paper and rice hull ashes as an alternative paper pencil. We aimed to reduce waste of the used
paper and coating of the rice grains by making an eco-friendly pencil and instead of cutting
trees which will take 8 million trees to cut every year just to make the normal paper we are
using right now.

Foreign
Citation 1: Newspaper pencils are an environment-friendly and high-performance quality pencil
the are made completely of used newspapers. By purchasing newspaper pencils you can
contribute to the planet by stopping deforestation, mitigating global warming and encouraging
the habit of reduce, reuse and recycle” (Aswathaman Vijayan, 2018, para. 5).
Citation 2: Recycled Pencil: The Most Comprehensive Introduction “When you use recycled
pencil, you save about 16-17 trees from being cut down and turned into wood pulp for making
pulp. When you use recycled pencil, this product about 60,000 liters of water from being used.”
(Honeyoung, 2022).
Citation 3: Recycling Paper Waste to Make Pencils: An Eco-Friendly Project by Engineering
Students in India “It is estimated that over 8 million trees are being chopped annually to
produce pencils that we use on a daily basis. Over 13 million hectares of forests are lost to
deforestation, out of which 36% s for paper manufacturing and 42% is for manufacturing
timber-based products that constitutes about 18-20 billion pencils. Moreover, nearly 85 billion
used pens are thrown away all over the world annually, accounting to plastic accumulation.”
“This project is aimed to creating paper-based pens and pencils.” (United Nations, 2023).
Local
Citation 4: Pencil or pen, which of the two has the greatest negative impact on the
environment? “The Asian country is also the largest global producer of graphite, a type of
carbon that mixed with a clay paste creates the pencil mine: all mining extractions have an
impact on the environment, but graphite mining is not among the worst.”“Although the greatest
virtue of the pencil surely resides in that it does not use plastic and, over time, our wood
shavings can be used to create compost. To create the pencil, it will be necessary to cut down a
mature tree to make about 170 thousand units.” “Although this damage can be reduced if we
choose them made of wood from certified sustainable forests or look for a pencil of recycled
material.” (Andrea Leal, 2020).
Citation 5: We also use this as the main material in our product because rice hull is attained
without the use of mining, not the same with graphite. Our idea in building products using this
solid waste has advantages. This can help in alleviating solid waste materials such as rice hulls, it
also promotes the use of pencil without using material acquired from mining, which can be
considered as environment friendly, and lastly everyone can benefit in our product. ("Rice Hull
Ash A Pencil Core”, 2017, para. 3).
Citation 6: Ecological Solid Waste Management act of 2000. Set guidelines and target for solid
avoidance and volume reductio through source and waste minimization measures, including
composting, recycling, re-use, recovery, green charcoal process, and others, before collection,
treatment, and disposal in appropriate and environmentally sound solid waste management
facilities in accordance with ecologically sustainable development principles. (Republic Act of
9003).

Conceptual Framework

INPUT PROCEDURE OUTPUT

Using paper pencil will First, collect used paper We are able to turn the
help the community and rice hulls from waste into something
reduce waste. And farmers. Second, burn useful. We are also
having an eco-friendly the rice hull but don’t let aiming to reduce the
pencil. it ignite. Third, crash the waste of paper and rice
rice hulls and add hulls.
cornstarch and water.
Next, mold it and let it
dry. After roll the paper
strips and lead with glue.
Lasty, let it dry.
Statement of the Problem

Deforestation has been a serious problem to our environment; thus, we made this study.
This study generally aims to determine the feasibility of paper and rice hulls lead pencil to be an
alternative pencil to traditional pencils and to reduce both deforestation and mining for graphite.

This study sought answers to the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondent in terms of:

1.1 Name (Optional)
1.2 Age
1.3 Allowance
1.4 Grade/Year level
1.5 School

2. What are the factors doing the student need to consider in selecting pencils in terms of:
2.1 Cost
2.2 Color
2.3 Durability
2.4 Efficiency

3. How does pencil production affect the environment in terms of:

3.1 Deforestation
3.2 Mining

4. How does paper pencil differ from the traditional pencil in terms of:
4.1 Materials/Resources
4.2 Production
4.3 Eco-friendliness
4.4 Quality
Hypothesis of the Study
This study evaluates the following:
Ho: There is no significant difference between the recycled paper pencil and the usual one in
terms of usage.
Ha: There is a significant difference between the recycled paper pencil and the usual one in
terms of production.

Significance of the Study

This study will have a significant contribution to promote a better pencil made of wastepaper
for the base and rice hulls for the lead that could be used in pencil production to have a earth
friendly and cheaper pencil. This research will help the students, parents, environment, and
future researchers.

 STUDENTS
This research will help them in choosing a good pencil. It will convince them to store their
used papers and recycle it to reduce waste.

 PARENTS
This study will help them convince them to buy paper pencils rather than traditional pencils
for their children. This will save them from saving money for school supplies for their
children.

 ENVIRONMENT
This research will benefit our environment by promoting paper pencil that is made of
wastepaper and rice hulls to reduce waste and avoid pollutions that is caused by
deforestation and mining.

 FUTURE RESEARCHERS
This paper can be used by future researchers as reference and guide to their studies and
innovation. The findings of this research will help them to verify and improve their research.

CHAPTER II
Introduction
This chapter outlines the methodology used to carry out this study. It focuses on
research design, selection of respondents, sampling design, making of research instrument,
data gathering procedures, and data analysis.

Research Design

In this study we used correlational We used a

Correlational
research design. This design
uses statistics to formally test
hypotheses or predictions.
We used a Correlational
research design. This design
uses statistics to formally test
hypotheses or predictions.
We used a Correlational
research design. This design
uses statistics to formally test
hypotheses or predictions.
In this study we used a correlational research design. This design uses statistics to test
hypotheses or predictions. This type of research design requires numerical and statistical
information. The reason we used a correlational research design is that it is ideal for gathering
data quickly from natural settings. By using it we however cannot influence the respondents in
any way.
The data collection method that we have used in this study is survey. This method collects
information from a group of individuals by asking them questions conducted through paper or
online forms. We are using this method because we want to find out about the opinions of a
group of people and because it is the fastest and most efficient way, we can gather data we
need.

Research Locale
This study was conducted in the Philippines, the participants in STI malolos will be answering
the survey if using the paper pencil is as good as using the traditional pencil. The researcher
chooses the grade 12 stem students of STI malolos to answer the survey questions because it
will give the researcher enough information and space to improve their research paper. This
study was conducted in the 2nd semester of the school year 2022-2023.

Population and sample of the study

This study’s population are students, specifically the ones in Malolos, Bulacan. The reason we
chose them as our respondents is because they are the ones who are most likely to use the
product our research is about.
The respondents of this study are selected 11th grade students from STI College Malolos from
the academic year 2022-2023.

Sampling Design
In this study we have employed the selective sampling method. It is the more applicable
method because of the large population.

Research Instrument
 4 3 2 2
STRONGLY DISAGREE AGREE STRONGLY
DISAGREE AGREE
1. Paper pencil is a good alternative to
traditional pencil.
2. Paper pencil is just as good as normal
pencil.

3. Paper pencil is a good alternative for

writing.

4. The rice hulls charcoal lead is strong

enough to write.

5. Paper pencil works on all type of pencil.

6. Paper pencil is sustainable for grade

school students.
7. Paper pencil is nontoxic.

8. The cost of paper pencil is more

affordable.
9. Using the paper pencil helps the
environment reduce paper waste.

10. Using the paper pencil helps the

environment reduce rice hulls waste

11. Paper pencil is an eco-friendly pencil.

12. I prefer using the jumbo-sized pencil.

13. I prefer using the normal size pencil.

14. Paper pencil is suitable for sharpeners.

15. Paper pencil is erasable.

Review Related Literature
Citation 1: Rice Hull Ash As A Pencil Core (Local)
“We also use this as the main material in our product because rice hull is attained without the
use of mining, not the same with Graphite. Our idea in building new product using this solid
waste has advantages. This can help in alleviating solid waste materials such as rice hulls, it also
promote the use of pencil without using materials acquired from mining, which can be
considered as environment friendly, and lastly, everyone can benefit in our product.” (“Rice
Hull Ash As A Pencil Core”, 2017, para. 3).

Citation 2: Recycling Paper Waste to Make Pencils: An Eco-Friendly Project by

Engineering Students in India (Foreign).
“It is estimated that over 8 million trees are being chopped annually to produce pencils that we
use on a daily basis. Over 13 million hectares of forests are lost to deforestation, out of which
36% is for paper manufacturing and 42% is for manufacturing timber-based products that
constitutes about 18-20 billion pencils. Moreover, nearly 85 billion tons of paper waste are
generated each year and 40% of them end up in landfills. In addition to landfills, 9 billion used
pens are thrown away all over the world annually, accounting to plastic accumulation.” “This
project is aimed at creating paper based pens and pencils.” (United Nations, 2023, para. 2).

Citation 3: Newspaper pencils (Foreign)

“Newspaper pencils are an environment-friendly and high-performance quality pencil the are
made completely of used newspapers. By purchasing newspaper pencils you can contribute to
the planet by stopping deforestation, mitigating global warming and encouraging the habit of
reduce, reuse and recycle” (Aswathaman Vijayan, 2018, para. 5 ).

Title 4: Recycled Pencil: The Most Comprehensive Introduction

“When you use recycled pencil, you save about 16-17 trees for every ton of old newspapers that
are recycled. When you use recycled pencil, this saves trees from being cut down and turned
into wood pulp for making pulp. When you use recycled pencil, this protects about 60,000 liters
of water from being used.” (Honeyoung, 2022, para. ).

Citation 5: Pencil or pen, which of the two has the greatest negative impact on the
environment?
“The Asian country is also the largest global producer of graphite, a type of carbon that mixed
with a clay paste creates the pencil mine: all mining extractions have an impact on the
environment, but graphite mining is not among the worst.”“Although the greatest virtue of the
pencil surely resides in that it does not use plastic and, over time, our wood shavings can be
used to create compost. To create the pencil it will be necessary to cut down a mature tree to
make about 170 thousand units.” “Although this damage can be reduced if we choose them
made of wood from certified sustainable forests or look for a pencil of recycled material.”
(Andrea Leal, 2020)

Citation 6: Eco-Efficiency of Pencil Preduction Using Life Cycle Assessment to

Increase the Manufacture Sustainability
“The pencil manufacturer produces a waste of 20 %, and the product rejects 37 %. The material
used is wood, slat, and chemical material for painting.” (Purwaningsih, Ratna et al., 2020).

Citation 7: Agricultural Wastes in the Philippines

“The most common agricultural wastes in the Philippines are rice husk, rice straw, coconut husk,
coconut shell and bagasse. The country has good potential for biomass power plants as one-
third of the country’s agricultural land produces rice, and consequently large volumes of rice
straw and hulls are generated”. “Rice is the staple food in the Philippines. The Filipinos are
among the world’s biggest rice consumers. The average Filipino consumes about 100 kilograms
per year of rice. Though rice is produced throughout the country, the Central Luzon and
Cagayan Valley are the major rice growing regions. With more than 1.2 million hectares of rain-
fed rice-producing areas, the country produced around 19 million tons of rice in 2019.” (Salman
Zafar, 2021).

Citation 8: How Many Trees Are Cut Down Each Year To Make Pencils?
“More schools in the world are becoming digitalized, but there are still places in the world that
heavily depend on the wooden pencil for adequate learning. There are also those artists,
draftsmen, businessmen and architects that prefer to jot down their ideas and draw designs,
the traditional way. The production of wooden pencils takes a toll on the world's forests, with
82,000 trees cut down each year to make 2 billion traditional wooden pencils, as each tree
yields about 170,000 pencils. However, until something that is equally convenient is invented,
wooden pencils will continue to be used by kids learning to write, and by others” “Pencil casings
are made out of softwood, harvested from the trunks of coniferous trees, such as pines,
spruces, and cedars, with the latter being most commonly used in the pencil production
industry today.““Unlike paper products, wooden pencils are easy to substitute, and it would be
advantageous for the environment and subsequently, for people's health, if fewer trees were
cut down for this sole purpose.” (Alisa Malala, 2020).

Citation 9: The Potential of Coffee Husk as an Alternative Material for Pencil Lead
“The Philippines is facing a conflict of the continuous expansion of mining. Graphite is yielded
from mining, and it is used in the production of different materials, such as in lubricants,
moderator, electrolytic anodes, and pencil. However, the way it is extracted can be very
destructive for our environment.” (Caterina Gabriella D. Peruzzi et al., 2019).
Citation 10: 5 Simple Steps to Make Pencil From Waste Paper
“Paper industry is considered as one of the world’s largest consumers of fossil fuels and biggest
industrial polluter. The industry is criticized by environmental groups for being responsible for
massive deforestation around the world. With the use of modern technology such as the
printing press and the highly mechanised harvesting of wood, paper has become a cheap
commodity. This has led to a high level of consumption and waste. Worldwide consumption of
paper has risen by 400% in the past 40 years, with 35% of harvested trees being used for paper
manufacture.” (Fatima Al-Bana, 2021).

Citation 11: Are Pencils Eco-Friendly? 11 Important Facts You Should Know
“Wooden pencils are the most eco-friendly overall since they are made mostly from renewable
resources. However, some aspects of them aren’t eco-friendly.
Although cutting down cedar trees to make pencils and other products can contribute to
deforestation”
“However, there are some issues with the graphite that is used in pencils. Graphite is a non-
renewable resource that is extracted mostly via open-pit mining.
Open-pit mining is more efficient and safer than underground mining but it also causes habitat
loss due to stripping vegetation from the area being mined. The lack of vegetation can also
cause landslides.” (Savanna Stanfield, 2018).

Citation 12: Open Pit Mining Pros & Cons

“An open pit mining operation virtually eliminates any biologic life at the surface. Vegetation is
stripped, and the surface at the dig site is left completely barren. Without replanting and
restoring the ecosystem, a strip mining site can take decades to recover. Abandoned mining pits
can also pose extreme risks. The slope of the mining walls can be steep or even vertical, and the
structural stability of access points is constantly changing as erosion occurs. Without vegetation
to stabilize the surface, landslides and rockslides can occur without warning.”“AMD, or acid
mine drainage, is a serious environmental concern associated with strip mining. AMD occurs
when sulfide-rich rocks that contain ore are broken down from exposure to water and air at the
surface. The sulfides form sulfuric acid, which dissolves nearby rock and releases dangerous
metalloids into local streams and groundwater. This polluted water can kill life along water
sources for miles.” (Max Roman Dilthey, 2018).

Citation 13: RICEHUSK PENCIL

“Rice husk is the byproduct of rice harvest and it’s rich of fibers, so it could be used to make
“bio-plastic” and enhance the strength of the material. After grinding, mixing and adhesives,
they’re now mainly used to produce tableware and kitchen utensil.” “Tried to make rice husk
pencil in a different way that people could recognize the difference easily when they see the
pencils. Because the production way of molding, rice husk pencils have much more freedom on
shapes.” (XINYI.JIANG, 2019).
Citation 14: Paper Waste: Why Does It Matter?
“Litter
From torn paper to used wrappers, it is no wonder that a third of all litter is paper products.
Littering can make an area entirely unattractive for tourists and business owners. Furthermore,
they attract insects and rodents, turning an area into a perfect breeding ground for various
diseases.
Deforestation
40% of all traded industrial wood in the world is reserved for pulp and paper industries, which
produce office paper, tissue, and paper-based packaging.
Deforestation is detrimental to the ecosystem as loss of habitat can lead to flora and fauna
extinction. While many industries have committed to reforestation projects, these artificial
forests are often unsustainable and unable to support biodiversity.
Landfill Volume of the 85 million tonnes of paper dumped each year, they fill about 40% of
landfills. Transporting waste costs money, so does managing waste facilities. Likewise, as the
volume of waste increases, the land needed to contain them also needs to expand. In addition,
paper wastes are often burned, causing air pollution, and some of the chemicals contained in
these products may damage the environment.
Paper is recyclable and reusable. Paper waste recycling is something that environmental
advocates have pushed for many years. It doesn’t have to go straight into the trash can after
use. With a bit of creativity, you can breathe new life into it.” (Bale Force, 2021).

Citation 15: How to produce rice husk charcoal

“Rice husk charcoal is formed by insufficient combustion of rice husk when heated to below its
ignition temperature. Rice husk is the outermost part of the rice seed which is a hard layer and
a waste material from rice milling. Therefore, the raw materials for producing rice husk charcoal
are abundant and low in cost. Making rice husk charcoal is a low-cost and high-yield business.”
(BELONG, 2021).