Everyone loves a unique souvenir to remember our travels by or bring home as a gift for a loved one. But what if your next gift was a little…shitty? In a good way! Elephant dung paper makes a unique gift and souvenir from a trip to Southeast Asia. It’s eco-friendly and supports elephant conservation too!
What is elephant dung paper?
A stunning notebook made with elephant dung paper
Put simply, elephant dung paper is paper made out of elephant poop. As herbivores, an elephant can only digest about 45% of its food. The rest of the cellulous fibers and pulpy plant material is pooped out. A grown Asian elephant can consume as much as 150-200kg (330-440lb) a day. That’s a lot of poop!
How is elephant poop paper made?
The elephant dung is collected and boiled to disinfect and remove the plant material from the poop. The raw material continues to boil for another few hours until a pulp slurry forms, similar to the consistency of oatmeal. This paper pulp is blended together with other sturdy paper materials such as sugar cane, cotton, coconut husks, and many other kinds of plant-based, natural materials. The paper is then screened and dried the old-fashioned way and voila, you have poop paper!
Why elephant poo paper is awesome
By purchasing and using recycled paper made either mostly or entirely out of plant material from plants other than trees, thousands of trees can be saved every year. In addition, the old-school process of making the paper avoids using chemicals such as chlorine and acid that can leak into the surrounding environment. Paper from elephant dung is environmentally friendly and can help support ethical elephant sanctuaries who make the paper around Southeast Asia. A single Asian elephant can make about 115 sheets of paper a day and provide the same amount of paper over the course of 90 to 175 days that a tree provides one time. The cost per sheet of dung paper is about the same as normal paper, so it’s a win-win.
Paper and the environment
The world consumes around 400 million tons of paper each year, contributing wildly to global warming and deforestation. The process of using tree pulp to make regular paper also discards a large portion of the tree, making the process very wasteful. It can take a single tree 80 to 120 years to fully grow, making it impractical to use trees for the majority of our paper products. Using dung paper reduces the carbon footprint and environmental cost of paper products worldwide.
Where to get elephant dung paper
White elephant dung paper in bulk sheets
You can find elephant dung paper virtually anywhere there are populations of Asian elephants. However, it is most common in Thailand, India, and Sri Lanka. Dung paper can also be made from other herbivorous animals such as goats, cows, donkeys, giraffes, or really any animal that munches on grass for dinner. But, for whatever reason, elephant dung paper just feels cooler.
If, like me, you aren’t currently traveling in Southeast Asia, you can still purchase dung paper online. There are multiple fair-trade poo paper companies out there that make handmade paper sheets and products while raising money for elephant conservation. Check out handmade paper product gifts on Paper High or buy eco-friendly elephant dung paper in bulk for your next art project or event.
The future is poo
Caring for elephants at the Elephant Nature Park, Thailand
I truly believe that recycling animal poop into paper should be more widespread. Elephant dung paper products are beautiful and gives that rustic or artistic flair many of us enjoy in notebooks, invitations, and greeting cards. Instead of using plastic and paper made from trees, we can make eco-friendly and unique paper products!
Be sure to listen to my podcast to learn more about ethical animal tourism worldwide!
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