As if we needed MORE reasons to recycle our paper, here comes another: the Universal World House, a $5,000, 390-square-foot modular home, is made of recycled paper and could provide the housing answer to third-world countries, refugee camps and even homeless populations right here in the U.S.

The environmentally-friendly house was invented by Gerd Niemoeller and produced by his Swiss company The Wall AG. The German development aid agency GTZ and architect Dirk Donath from the Bauhaus University in Weimar contributed to the development of the Universal World House, as well. The house can be a home for up to eight people and includes a shower and lavatory. It is assembled quickly and easily almost anywhere, and it’s earthquake-proof. And lest anyone think that the recycled paper walls will melt in the first rainfall, worry not: the house’s construction uses a heated, pressurized honeycomb method that makes the house both durable and insulated against the elements. Simply put, this little wonder turns our paper waste into a higher standard of living for the underprivileged around the world.

“People don’t want to flee their countries, they’ve been driven to leave their homes out of the need to survive,” Niemoeller told The Times Online. “The number of migrants, refugees living in improvised housing, is going to grow with climate change, and we offer an alternative.” No longer will lean-tos of scrap metal be the only resource for poor or displaced people seeking shelter.

Nigeria and Angola have already placed orders for some of these Universal World Houses, and other countries and organizations are sure to follow. Future plans may include sending the construction machines themselves, along with the raw materials, to the various countries so that the homes can be made and put to use on the spot (and so that local jobs can be created in the process). And if the need for the homes declines, no worries; the houses themselves are recyclable.

Alternative and affordable housing for anyone who needs or wants it, in any part of the world, made possible in part by recycled paper. So don’t stop recycling those newspapers anytime soon! It’s not just saving the planet… It’s saving the people who live here, too.

Sources for this article: Gizmodo, The Times Online