The convenience of toilet
paper is a comfort many Americans can’t picture themselves living
without. America is the world largest market for toilet paper. Americans per capita use 23.6 rolls per year, totaling
about 7 billion rolls a year for the country. Unfortunately, using
toilet paper is not the most sustainable practice.
The production of toilet
paper results in the harvesting of millions of trees. An average eucalyptus
tree makes 1,000 rolls of paper, which means that millions of trees must be
harvested in order to satisfy the United States addiction to toilet paper
alone.
Depending on the type of toilet paper effects what type of wood
byproducts are used to make the toilet paper. Toilet papers advertised as “quilted” and “fluffy” are made from old growth and
virgin wood fibers.
So as your reading this
article you must be wondering what the alternative is to using toilet paper.
Below I have listed some of the more sustainable alternatives that you
should at least consider before you buy your next roll.
Re Useable Wipes
You may have heard about
reusable toilet paper on TLC’s show on the cheapest people. But using reusable
wipes isn’t only cheaper than using toilet paper it is also more
sustainable. Instead of having a roll of toilet paper by the toilet,
people who use reusable toilet paper keep a stack of homemade cloth wipes which
can be made from cut up old sheets or t-shirts. After using the wipe, the wipe
can be placed in a closed container lined with a laundry bag which can be
washed in a washing machine once or twice a week.
Though reusable wipes
need to be washed, which requires the use of energy and water, the creation of
toilet paper in the mill also requires water and electricity, while also
releasing chemicals to the environment. Using wipes made from cloth can be
softer then the softest toilet paper.
It may feel like a large
commitment switching from toilet paper to reusable wipes but many people are
extremely happy about the environmental impact they make by switching.
Bidets
One of the reasons
Americans use so much more toilet paper then our European counterparts is
because in many parts of Europe bidets are extremely common. A
traditional bidet is separate from the toilet and is
like a wash basin that shoots water for cleaning, but modern “attached bidets
“can be connected to the toilet without having to install a separate bidet.
Modern bidets also contain other features that make users less likely to use
toilet paper, some of them blow air to help the user dry off while others are
electricity.
Toilet Paper Made from Recycled Paper
If the option of using re
useable wipes or getting a bidet seems too weird for you, at least try
and toilet paper made from recycled paper. According
to the EPA if
everyone in the United States exchanged only one roll of regular toilet paper
for a roll made from recycled paper it would save 470,000 trees. Imagine how
many trees could be save.