Are we flushing forests down the toilets?
Over the course of their lives, the average person uses 384 trees to wipe their behinds. Toilet paper is the king of all disposable items because it is used for just a few seconds before being permanently discarded. Despite the fact that approximately 25 to 30 percent of people worldwide use toilet paper, we nevertheless make over 83 million rolls per day!
When most people realize that the two biggest tissue product producers in the world still use virgin fiber from old growth forests to make toilet paper, they are incredibly shocked. Though it appears like a terrible nightmare, it’s actually true! Over 800 rolls of toilet paper are produced by a typical tree that weighs about 1,000 pounds. Every day, a large amount of forests gets removed! The fact that the US has the largest market for toilet paper is not surprising. The UK comes in second, followed by France. Keep in mind that forests just so happen to be the planet’s lungs. They absorb large volumes of carbon dioxide and turn it into oxygen that sustains life, thereby regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, we are ruthlessly clearing more than a million acres of boreal forest per year.
Climate change and the environment are unquestionably at risk from this. One of the greatest carbon footprints is that of 100 percent virgin pulp, which produces three times as much carbon as goods made from other forms of pulp. Additionally, when trees fall, native species in native forests and among indigenous people suffer a catastrophic collapse. These eco-systems sustain habitat for wildlife that is not found anyplace else on the planet, making them some of the few undeveloped areas left on the planet.
There must be a better method. There is simply no excuse for washing away forests. Fortunately, there is! There are numerous other environmentally friendly options, among them tissues and paper manufactured from recycled paper. For our paper needs, we do not at all need to rely on trees from ancient forests. We can make them instead out of post-consumer recycled material or other sustainable alternative fibers. Tissue goods made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled material have a substantially less environmental impact and produce far less harmful waste.
Being aware that not all recycled paper products are produced equally is crucial. Even though many items only have a negligible amount of post-consumer recycled material, they can nonetheless claim to use recycled materials. But don’t worry, you can easily get high-quality, long-lasting toilet paper that is made entirely of recycled materials. In fact, your preferred retailer probably already has it in stock.
It takes time to adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle. I continue to learn new things every day and try to live a waste-free, environmentally responsible life. I occasionally make mistakes. No one is perfect, but we can all work to improve gradually and benefit from one another. If you’re looking for some new knowledge, here are a few suggestions for cutting back on household paper products.
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Not suggesting that you reuse tissues or toilet paper, but rather that you look for places in your life or cleaning routine where you may use rags instead of paper items, such as old towels or tee shirts. Consider including a linen napkin in your utensil roll-up or even switching to cloth napkins at home in place of paper ones if you want to avoid using plastic cutlery. whenever possible, choose reusables over one-time use.
The next step in living more mindfully is always reducing how much we consume. We can choose a more sustainable option or use less by analyzing our use of single-use paper products and figuring out strategies to cut back. This, in my opinion, goes hand in hand with spending money on high-quality goods that function better and, generally speaking, require less use or purchase.
We could save almost 740,000 trees if every home in the US switched from a 4 pack of 240-sheet virgin fiber toilet paper to recycled toilet paper! Making every effort to exclusively buy paper that has been completely recycled, like that from Seventh Generation, is a prime example. As long as they haven’t come into contact with chemicals, we can compost used paper towels and napkins as well!