Roo poo paper offered to tourists

Tourists have traditionally brought some strange souvenirs back from their travels – donkeys with sombreros from Spain, Mickey Mouse caps from Disneyland, and strings of papier mache chilli peppers from Mexico, for example. But now travellers to the Australian island of Tasmania will be able to pick up a memento to cap them all – writing paper made from kangaroo manure. The BBC quotes Joanne Gair, of Creative Paper Tasmania, as saying: “It’s a great product for tourists, but it’s also something that gets our eco-friendly message home to a lot of people.” The paper is already in production, but its makers complain that a lack of suitable material is hindering supply. “At the moment we are finding it difficult to get the quantity of poo we need. We are hoping the community will help by collecting poo for us and dropping it off in plastic bags. New or old, we’ll take it all,” Ms Gair is quoted as saying. She reportedly started the business because she was inspired by the use of elephant dung to make paper in Africa, and reports from Scandinavia where, apparently, “elk poo paper is the stationery of choice in most offices”. Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad