A team of researchers has developed a sustainable and miniaturized platform for the programmable pre-concentration of analytes and the electrochemical detection of mercury traces in drinking water. The platform involves the merging of two paper-based substrates, office paper and filter paper, to exploit the unique advantages of each component. Office paper is suitable for printing conductive strips, while filter paper is ideal for storing chemicals. The researchers utilized a wax printing technique to create a 3D configured filter paper that can pre-concentrate real matrices, store reagents, and tune the level of sensitivity, addressing the challenge of achieving effective sensitivity using humble configurations and microliter volumes. The paper-based pre-concentration operation enhances the sensitivity towards mercury ion detection up to 5-fold compared to that of the unique office paper-based screen-printed electrode. Moreover, the design of a 3D-printed holder ensures the use of a compact device. This novel platform demonstrates the possibility of merging humble materials to maximize their impact on analytical and remediation challenges, highlighting their synergistic significance. The approach is versatile and easily extendable to other in-house systems requiring sensitivity improvement. This represents a significant step forward in the development of sustainable and cost-effective solutions for water monitoring and management.