We have a question for you. An adult giant panda bear eats 12 to 15 kilograms of bamboo shoots every day. It also spits out about 50 kilos of bamboo husks after it has chewed on them. Three hundred giant pandas are looked after by The China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda in mainland China’s Sichuan province. What do you think one of the Centre’s main problems is?

If you are struggling with the answer, you may find a clue in the title of this article. Panda Poo Paper is the name given to a new product being produced by the Sichuan Qianwei Fengsheng Paper Company. The product is exactly what it says it is. The paper has been made – or recycled – from panda poo, and it sells for about HK$50 a roll.

Ever since giant pandas were first kept in captivity, their keepers have found it difficult to know what to do with the 10 kilos of poo each panda produces each day. Keepers call panda poo green balls because they are basically large balls of bamboo fibre. Usually, it can be used as compost, but there is so much of it, large amounts are thrown away.

When a panda chews and swallows bamboo, its digestive system absorbs something called fructose. Fructose is the fruit sugar found in bamboo. Bamboo fibre is left. This is turned into poo and expelled from the body. For a paper factory to turn bamboo into paper, it first must break down any remaining fructose. Then, the remaining fibre can be extracted and turned into paper.

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