Chinese firm all set to make tissues out of panda poop

With more and more people moving toward sustainable practices to curb global wastage, a Chinese firm has devised a way to use panda excreta and turn it into paper. 

The Qianwei Fengsheng Paper Company in southwest Sichuan province and the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda have teamed up to recycle panda faeces and food debris.

Panda excreta and food debris account for massive waste.

According to Huang Yan, Researcher at the giant panda centre, close to 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of panda excreta is procured every day.

Nearly 50 kilograms of food waste is also generated as the animals spit out husks after chewing bamboo shoots.

Turning close to 60 kilograms of waste into toilet paper, napkins and other household products would help minimise wastage and facilitate revenue generation. 

The products will soon be made available to the Chinese market under 'Panda Poo' product line.

A box of 'Panda Poo' tissues is likely to be sold at 43 yuan ($6.5) in Chinese markets.

"The process of turning bamboo into paper generally involves the breaking down of fructose to extract fibre, a step that naturally occurs in the pandas' digestive tract," the paper company's president, Yang Chaolin, told Xinhua.

Panda faeces will be collected from three panda bases in Sichuan twice a week.

The waste material will be boiled, pasteurised and turned into paper after which it will be tested for bacteria before going on sale.

(With inputs from AFP)