Japanese machine turns office paper into toilet paper (w/ Video)

As the company explains, the White Goat uses 40 sheets of standard A4 office paper and some water to make one roll of toilet paper, a process which takes about 30 minutes. First, a built-in shredder cuts the paper into ribbons, which move to a pulper where they are dissolved in water. The resulting pulp is thinned out, dried, and rolled up into ready-to-use toilet paper. Each roll costs about 10 Yen (11 cents) to make, compared to a store-bought roll of about 60 cents.

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Oriental Co., Ltd., exhibits the White Goat at Eco-Products 2009.

The 1.8-meter-tall machine, which weighs 600 kg, is set to go on sale this summer for $100,000. At that price, as some critics have pointed out, the White Goat would have to churn out lots of toilet paper to be economical. It would take 200,000 recycled rolls to break even, not including the costs of running the machine. If the machine were to run 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, it would take a little over 11 years to produce the 200,000 rolls. But then again, maybe it’s not all about money. Saving trees, reducing paper waste, and serving as a constant reminder of human impact on the environment are also byproducts of the machine.

More information: Oriental Co. website [Japanese]

via: DVICE

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