When it comes to sacrificing a little bit of pampering for the environment, few of us, even the die hard dedicated environmentally concerned are willing to live without toilet paper. But there is a lot to know about the stuff that may surprise you.
It is new
Toilet paper is relatively new in our history. Although it seems as though it is something that we have long needed, in actuality, it wasn’t in widespread usage until the 1930s. That is right, all of those flappers of the roaring twenties had to find other means of wiping their bottoms.
It requires more than seven million trees
In the United states alone, we require more than seven million trees to be cut down and milled to make enough toilet paper to supply us all for just one year. What about 100 percent recycled toilet paper or hybrid toilet paper that contains some recycled material? Well, that only accounts for about 2 percent of the toilet paper that is purchased, a very small dent.
Why recycled toilet paper is bad
Okay, so you put up with the less than soft feel of recycled toilet paper, so you must be doing good things for the environment right? Well, the answer may actually be no. This is because while recycled paper saves trees, the process of recycling it may involve the use of harmful chemicals such as dioxin and organochlorines. These chemicals have been linked to learning disorders, diabetes, autoimmune issues and more.
(The non-recycled stuff may have these chemicals, too.)
What you can do
There are a couple of things that you can do to reduce your impact on the Earth in regard to your toilet paper. First look for 100 percent recycled paper that is chlorine free or unbleached. Choose 1-ply paper over standard 2-ply paper. Studies have shown that people don’t use more of the 1-ply, so you will be reducing your use. Plus, less paper is so much better for septic systems. Teach children to be conservative with their use of toilet paper.
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