Fresh off two weeks in Guatemala, I (Jim) am reminded of a soap powder my mother used fifty years ago.  It was called "Salvo." What reminded me? They are now selling drinking water in a large plastic pouch which is full of smaller plastic pouches there.  These smaller pouches are individual portion size.  You simply bite off the corner, and you have a glass of water.  Squeeze it out.

This brings me back to a twenty year old favorite topic of mine--small paper machines.  Several years ago, a machine from Japan was developed that could make tissue by the roll in the office, from office waste. Seems as though it has not caught on.

However, if a large pouch could be developed that contained everything (fiber, additives, water and so forth) to make a grade of paper, such as tissue, would it make any sense?  I think so.  Then, we could reverse the trend toward larger mills and put papermaking near the point of consumption.  Overall, it would be quite a simplification.