I continue to be impressed with the growing number of green innovations that transform human waste into a renewable and profitable source of energy. This week, I discovered that Israeli entrepreneur and CEO of Applied CleanTech (ACT), Rafael Aharon, has developed a system that uses human sewage to produce paper.
I had heard of natural, recycled and odorless paper products made from poop of various fiber-eating vegetarian animals such as elephants, cows, horses, moose, pandas, and donkeys, but paper produced from people poop? This was something new.
As you can image, I nearly shot out of my seat with excitement and immediately began the quest to figure out how it was done. It turns out that it is a relatively simple process.
To make poo paper from human waste, the technology extracts solids from sewage and turns the cellulose found in toilet paper and fecal matter into clean recycled paper. Over the past few years paper created from human sewage has been used in a variety of products, including envelopes with no complaint (or odors)!
ACT is in negotiations with waste water treatment facilities in the United States and Europe to collect their sludge for paper recovery. This will drastically reduce the number of virgin trees cut down.
According to their website, the company’s proprietary bio-solids recycling process produces more than just paper. The recycling process creates a variety of renewable energy products under the brand name Recyllose. These include combustibles for power plants, feedstock for cellulosic ethanol production and pulp products for the paper industry.
The same ick-factor existed when elephant poo paper first came out and now it is all a rage, and is seen as an artistic alternative to normal paper. Honestly, if you look at it and even smell it, it is no different from other kinds of paper. How different is human poo from elephant poo? It’s all a matter of perspective.
Human poo paper isn’t available to purchase yet. In the meantime though, purchase panda poo paper and save a tree or two.
