An eco-friendly treasure
Paper is a significant source of waste generated in homes, workplaces, and educational institutions. It is essentially limited to using two sides before it degrades into another piece of rubbish. An estimated 2 million trees are felled every day in the world, most of which are used to produce the paper we use daily. The good news is that an increasing number of wood pulp paper substitutes are being developed daily, using a variety of resources like cotton, fruits, seaweed, and elephant dung.
How is it made?
Elephant waste is simply raw cellulose because they are herbivores.
According to this article, there are multiple phases involved in the process of making elephant poop paper. To get rid of bacteria, elephant dung is first gathered and steam-cleaned. After the dung has been cleansed, it is combined with gray paper pulp, which is made by tearing up old maps and soaking them in water. The boiling and cooking process helps separate the lignin and acts as a disinfectant. To increase the strength of the paper, fillers like cotton rags are occasionally added.
After that, the mixture is stretched over a mesh frame to create a rectangle, which is then flattened with a rolling pin and sandwiched between two pieces of dry felt. Elephant poop paper is produced by absorbing excess water and letting it dry for around 24 hours. This is an environmentally beneficial and sustainable substitute for paper products made from traditional trees.
All the things they make contain about 70% recycled paper and 30% dung, so it’s a completely natural substance.
Why is it eco-friendly?
Elephant dung may not have been the first material that came to mind if you were searching for environmentally friendly products. However, given that an adult elephant can produce up to 200 kg per day, they are definitely not in short supply! Even the process of making elephant dung paper, which is a very ecological choice, requires less water, energy, and carbon emissions than the technique used to make ordinary paper.
Poop paper and environment
Elephant dung paper is produced in an environmentally safe way, therefore, it is free of acid and chlorine. Since 1997, Maximus, a company based in rural Sri Lanka, has been making paper made from elephant dung.
The excellent Maximus Elephant Conservation Trust (also known as Eco Maximus) is a Fair Trade organization. It is dedicated to the principles of sustainable development and the well-being of people, animals, and the environment.
Farmers and rural people now gain economically from the coexistence of elephants since they can earn money from collecting elephant dung, which is now used to make paper. In order to further the mutually beneficial relationship and improve the lives of both humans and elephants, they also hire and teach local artists to design the products.
As if that weren’t enough, a portion of the trust’s profits are given to the Millennium Elephant Foundation (MEF), a small charity that looks after sick, old, and disabled elephants. The elephants at the foundation are especially vulnerable without the attention they receive there. By buying and using elephant dung goods, you’re actively enhancing the future of Sri Lanka’s magnificent elephant population.
