Why do we supply elephant dung paper?

Elephants are used as working animals around the world and, after their usefulness has ended due to injury or old age, they become a burden and are disgarded.  The Millennium Foundation in Sri Lanka homes elephants and looks after them.  We also support the work of The Elephant Family.

Man chops down trees to make way for buildings, crops, homes, etc so elephants have less and less varity and space to find their food from.  When they stumble upon a field of crops, they eat them and destroy the harvest for many.  Elephants that do this are seen as pests and are injured and sometimes killed to protect crops for villages.  The habitat war continues between the elephants and man.  The elephants of Sri Lanka are known as Elephas Maximus Maximus.

Rhinoceros have been hunted for their horns for years and their numbers are very low throughout the world.  We have been invited to be involved in partnership with Save the Rhino International based in London.  More information about what they are trying to achieve can be seen on their website.

Elephant dung and rhinoceros dung is obviously a waste product from the animals that would rot down into the ground.  A very small proportion of the elephant dung and rhinoceros dung available is used to produce our products.

 

Facts and information about recycled paper

Recycling has been around since the dawn of man.  Anything was used and re-used.  Animal skins were fashioned to keep us warm, bones made into utensils after the meat had been eaten.  In the animal kingdom, everything is re-used by some other animal and their 'waste' goes into the ground to sustain plant growth and for some other insects to live on.  It seems that only modern day mankind produces any waste that isn't naturally re-used in some form. 

Historically paper was always made from a recycled product.  Cotton and linen rags were used originally.  The cutting down of trees was introduced around the mid 19th centuary.  

Each year approx 3/4 million tonnes of paper is used in offices with UK.  3/4 of that is simply thrown away.  By purchasing recycled paper, this would reduce landfill, cut imports (nearly 90% of our paper is imported) and save energy. 

People think that recycling paper requires more energy that conventional paper production methods.  This is simply not true.    It takes about 50% of the total energy to produce recycled paper rather than pulping wood.

The paper production is the same for 'new' paper as it is for 'recycled' paper therefore, the quality is the same. 

The actual term 'recycled' has so many meanings.  'Paper from sustainable forestry' means that as many trees that are cut down are planted.  There are also lots of % levels permitted in 'recycled paper' that allow it to be called recycled.  Ours is regulated by NAPM (National Association of Paper Merchants) to the 100% level.  That means that it is totally made from 100% recycled paper - and nothing else.  There are no bleaches or detergents used either.  Most of the paper that is recycled has already been through an original bleaching process and therefore no further bleaching is required during the recycling stage.  The papers are 'de-inked' to maintain their whiteness but we also offer a recycled paper which doesn't even undergo this process.  Possibly the greenest paper there is.

The environmental impact of the paper life cycle is divided into four areas:

- Raw Materials - Pulping and Paper Making - Distribution - Recycling or Disposal   Raw Materials   The most common raw material utilised in paper making is wood fibre.   This usually comes from commercial forest operations where it is possible to meet the demands of the environmental while remaining commercial through the practice of Sustainable Forestry Management (SFM)   Many certification schemes for SFM already exist, and others are being developed around the world.   Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC), Finnish Forestry Certification Scheme (FFCS) and Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) are just a few. Many plantations are also certificated to ISO 14001 the International Environmental Standard.

We have also developed a method of supply other poo papers - Rhino poo paper and Reindeer poo paper.  Why those two animals you may ask.  Well firstly only herbivors need apply.  Half chewed rotting meat wouldn't make great paper and also the bugs and nasties involved would make cleaning the poo too complicated.  Secondly, we were asked to !!  When Paignton Zoo had the birth of baby Zuru (black rhino born in captivity), we were asked to do something to help celebrate that and made paper with black rhino's poo.  The reindeer paper was just because we were continually asked if there was a way to do it.  After a bit of trial and error, we have hit upon a way of achieving this and, we believe, we are the only ones that are actually producing it.  Several websites say it is coming or they are taking enquiries and will get back to you but we are the only ones that can actually make and sell you reindeer poo paper.  Our speciality reindeer poo paper is a handmade paper that contains Christmas tree seeds which will grow.  Fun and novel and very popular.