SRI LANKA, July 5, 2001: Elephants are everywhere on the island of Sri Lanka just south of India and this abundant resource has found an unique niche. After reading about the success a Kenyan game ranger had with the process of making paper from elephant dung, Thusitha Ramsinghe decided to give it a try. Finding out that the elephant’s waste product contains a high degree of cellulose, Mr. Ramsinghe’s company started to first collect, sort, dry, and boil the dung to extract the pulp which is then pressed into paper. The company called Maximus utilizes the paper to produce greeting cards, menus and invitations. Willing to pay the extra price for this rare item, companies such as the Hilton, Sri Lankan airlines, the Bank of Ceylon and others purchase the specialty paper to intrigue their clientele.
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