A novelty company in Snodnonia, north Wales has been awarded a $38,000 Millennium Award to convert sheep droppings into greeting cards and gift items. The BBC reports that Creative Paper Wales was awarded the contract for its Sheep Poo Paper project.

The company will collect droppings from surrounding mountains in the region then sterilize it using pressure cookers and recover the washed and undigested fibers.

It said a sheep digests only 50 percent of what it eats.

The recovered fibers will be mixed to form paper and cardboard which will be then used to make a variety of stationery and gift products.

Lawrence Toms, 38 from Rhondda and Lez Paylor, 38 from Caerphilly, Wales, the founders of the company said the water used in the washing of the fibers would not be wasted as it would be distributed to local farmers to be used as fertilizers for their crops.

The two said the concept is uniquely Welsh technology. They said their plant in Aberllefenni near Machynlleth, also in north Wales, is capable of producing two tons of paper per year.