At first, wanted to get rid of the 'green plastic thing', but was 'not removable'. However, it did end up being useful in holding the paper down and keeping fingers farther from the SHARP slicer/blade. No struggle in pushing down the slicer/blade, really does cut (easily) 30 sheets of paper, liked how the measuring lines went the whole length and sat solid on the table and didn't slip around. Only test left....how long will it stay sharp?!?!