It seems the folks over at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Site in Beijing, China are taking the three Rs of recycling a bit too seriously.

They plan to turn panda dung into odor-free souvenirs.

Panda dung bookmarks. Panda dung cute panda statues. Talk about turning one man's waste - or rather, one panda's - into one man's miscellany!

While this sounds a bit unhygienic - after all, poop is poop - Jing Shimin, assistant director of the panda breeding base, says that it won't stink as much (or at all) like the droppings we're normally exposed to. The reason for this is that 70% of panda dung is actually undigested bamboo.

So how are they made, anyway? The process is remarkably simple. First, the dung is carefully selected, then smashed up into a manageable pulp, then dried, and THEN sterilized at a whopping 300 degrees Celsius (that's 572 degrees Fahrenheit). This process ensures that the actual merchandise made from the dung would pose no health risks whatsoever.

The treated dung will then be handled by a local handicraft company, where much of the souvenir-making will take place.

Certainly very creative thinking from the people taking care of these cute yet endangered creatures. It's a double boon for pandas - not only are their habitats getting cleaned, but the money that would have been spent on removing their dung (6,000 yuan, or US $770 per month) would be invested in taking better care of them. Nice.

Poop souvenirs in, garments made out of animal fur out. Updates as we get them! Or as fast the pandas can make them.