| Did you know that some recycled paper is made | | | | variety of colors. There's an almost limitless palette |
| from elephant dung? The paper doesn't come from | | | | of colors available, so recycled paper products are |
| the dung itself, but from the fibers that are | | | | just as good as paper products made from raw |
| contained in the elephant dung. Elephants eat | | | | materials. |
| anywhere from 100 to 1,000 pounds on a daily basis, | | | | How is the paper made? |
| but their digestion is poor. Instead of digesting all of | | | | After the fibers have been dyed, they are mixed |
| the food they eat, they only digest about 40% of it | | | | with natural substances. These substances make the |
| and the other 60% is excreted in the dung. The | | | | fiber mixture thicken so that it can be formed into |
| fibers are in the dung because they come from all of | | | | cakes or patties for making paper. These cakes and |
| the plants, trees, shoots, and other vegetation that | | | | patties are placed in mesh trays so that they can be |
| elephants eat every day. These fibers are what can | | | | dried off once all of the mixing has taken place. The |
| be harvested and used to make recycled paper | | | | trays are then placed against trees so that the cakes |
| that's a better alternative to paper that is made from | | | | can face the sun and get dried more quickly. Once |
| raw materials. | | | | the cakes have dried sufficiently, sheets of recycled |
| How are these fibers harvested? | | | | paper are peeled from the mesh trays. |
| The fibers found in elephant dung can be harvested | | | | What is recycled paper used for? |
| by working with conservation groups that provide | | | | Recycled paper made from elephant dung is used for |
| the dung to companies making recycled paper. | | | | a wide variety of gift items including journal gifts, |
| Aren't the fibers dirty? | | | | stationery sets, note cards, and related items. |
| The fibers start out dirty, but they don't stay dirty | | | | Why should I buy recycled paper made from |
| for long. Once the fibers have been received, they | | | | elephant dung? |
| are cleaned in boiling water so that all of the bacteria | | | | You should buy recycled paper products that are |
| and dirt are washed off of them. This cleaning | | | | made from elephant dung because they are an |
| process helps to make recycled paper that is made | | | | environmentally sound alternative to buying products |
| from elephant dung a healthy and safe choice. It's | | | | that are made with raw materials. This creates a |
| also a safer cleaning process because no bleach or | | | | depletion of our natural resources and results in a lot |
| other chemicals are used. The process of making | | | | of waste from the production processes. If you |
| recycled paper is kept as natural as possible. | | | | want to be more environmentally responsible, |
| What happens to the fibers after they are cleaned? | | | | consider buying recycled paper products that are |
| After they are cleaned, the fibers are dyed so that | | | | made from animal dung. They look great and they |
| the paper that is made can come out in a wide | | | | have a high level of quality. |