Don’t worry: You don’t have to give up toilet paper. That said, it is important to consider how much of it you and your family go through.
Today, I challenge you to examine your toilet paper usage.
It’s day twenty two of the zero waste challenge! The beginning of the challenge is focused on simple swaps like bringing your own water bottle and bags to the grocery store.
Now, we’re in the second phase of the challenge. These changes are lifestyle changes like learning to make your own snacks, decluttering your life the zero waste way, and meal prepping.
Today we’re talking about toilet paper.
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the problem:
Americans flush 27,000 trees down the toilet each day. That’s a lot of trees - a lot of resources! And, as we’ve talked about on day one we should reduce how much we buy and on day 11 that we should focus on conserving natural resources.
Americans use 8 million tons of toilet paper a year, and the worst part is, they aren’t even using recycled products, but virgin pulp. If every United States household used just one roll of 100 percent post consumer recycled toilet paper a year, 423,900 trees would be saved. That’s pretty amazing!
To top it all off, most conventional toilet paper is bleached, processed, steeped in dioxins and furans. Is that really what you want near such a private area?
And, lest we forget, conventional toilet paper is usually wrapped in hard to recycle plastic. It’s literally waste on waste.
So, does that mean you have to completely give up toilet paper to become a zero waster? Not at all.
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the solution:
the bidet:
Justin and I still use toilet paper, butt (too much?) we also have a bidet attachment on our toilet.
AND I promise you the bidet is life changing. It cut down our toilet paper use by almost 75 percent just with this one simple swap.
It’s not too terribly expensive: Bidet attachments can cost anywhere from $35 to $95 and I promise you they will pay for themselves.
With our bidet, we go through about 24 rolls of toilet paper a year or one roll per person per month. I think that’s pretty good!
We’ve had both a Tushy and a Brondell bidet attachments. We are fans of both!
choosing a better toilet paper:
There are a couple companies that sell toilet paper that comes in a cardboard box and then the rolls are wrapped in paper so it’s totally plastic free. You can typically pick boxes of toilet paper up like this at an office supply store.
My personal favorite choice is Who Gives a Crap! I like both their tree-free bamboo paper and their recycled. It’s really a tough call on which one is better!
I’ve worked with them on a couple of blog posts, but they are hands down my favorite. I was a customer long before they sponsored a post on the blog. I love that they donate 50% of their profits to help build toilets and clean water projects all over the world.
Of course, there are tons of other sustainable toilet paper brands too. It’s important to find whatever works best for you.
Here are some companies I recommend looking into:
These toilet papers are plastic free, made from recycled paper, or tree free. Be sure to check in at your local grocery or convenience store to see if they have any of these brands.
If you really can’t find any plastic free toilet paper, look and see if there’s a plastic film wrap drop off location in your area. Most grocery stores have a bin you can put it in: That way it has a chance of being recycled.
family cloth:
There are some zero wasters who take it to the next level and choose to go with reusable toilet paper. No disrespect, if that’s your method - more power to you!
It’s a little extreme for me, but for those interested, it’s often called “Family Cloth”.
Essentially, you use cloth wipes, which you drop in a bucket instead of the toilet, and then you wash them in the laundry. You repeat the cycle as you go along.
If you were going to go this route, you would definitely need a bidet attachment.
take the challenge!
Over the next 9 days, your challenge is to examine your toilet paper use.
Consider installing a bidet to cut back on overall toilet paper use, and plan your next toilet paper purchase. Are you opting for tree-free, 100 percent recycled toilet paper, getting it plastic free? What does your next purchase look like?
Will you be taking the challenge?
want more?
Just starting out? Have 1,000 burning questions!? Get access to my private Facebook group, where I’ll be hosting weekly lives throughout the challenge and I answer all of your most pressing questions.
I’m the head content creator over at pelacase.com and have partnered with them to create an email version of the challenge. I will be sending out weekly recap letters with Pela if you’d prefer to have this challenge in larger chunks and delivered straight to your inbox.
PLUS! I’ll be sending out a brand new e-book at the end of the challenge called the Game On Handbook. Which is all about individual ways to fight climate change. You don’t want to miss it.
miss a day?
