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Banana fibre is a natural fibre with high strength, which can be blended easily with cotton fibre or synthetic fibre to produce composite material. In the fiber extraction process, a substantial amount of lignocellulosic wastes are generated, disposal of which creates problem in the adjacent area. In this paper, extracted banana fiber (EBF) and waste banana fiber (WBF) were characterized in terms of chemical and morphological properties to produce handmade paper. WBF was characterized with lower α-cellulose, lignin content and longer fiber length. Pulping of EBF and WBF was carried out with varying active alkali and cooking time at boiling temperature. Pulp yield of WBF was 35.9% after 120 min of cooking with 8% alkali charge. In the unbeaten state the degrees of drainage resistance i.e. SR values were 65 and 71 for EBF and WBF, respectively. The tensile, burst and tear indices of WBF were 23.7 N.m/g, 2.2 kPa.m 2 /g and 5.0 mN.m 2 /g, respectively; these were much lower as compared to EBF. These values however, meet the requirement for handmade paper.

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