The average Brit uses approximately 127 rolls of toilet paper per year, which is a lot of waste, energy, and deforestation for one person. Stick with us, here are our top 5 reasons why bamboo toilet paper is ‘better’ for you, for the environment, and for everyone.
Your average roll of toilet paper requires 37 gallons of water and 1.3 KWh of electricity to make. Bamboo toilet paper requires significantly less amount of water in production as it doesn’t need to be made into pulp first.
Overall, bamboo toilet paper is significantly better for the environment. It doesn’t contribute to deforestation, which means less habitats are lost and the pandas don’t lose out on their meals either. Bamboo is the Guinness world record holder for being the fastest growing plant. That means whereas a conifer will take a year to grow one foot, bamboo can grow the same in one hour. It’s not high maintenance either. Bamboo will grow almost anywhere and unlike other trees, it doesn’t have to be replanted, it will regrow, which means it is a great renewable source for your bathroom.
One of the problems the industry is facing today, however, is that more and more people are cutting down existing forests to make way for bamboo plantations. It’s not common but it’s on the rise, so you have to make sure that you are buying from a trusted brand that is FDA approved.
Unlike other toilet roll alternatives such as recycled toilet paper, bamboo toilet roll is 100% biodegradable. That means you won’t be getting any nasty drain blockages. Not only is it good for the environment, but it’s better for your pipes. A lot of highly padded, ultra-luxury paper can be difficult to break down and therefore get stuck. Bamboo toilet paper, despite being very durable, is flushable and will break down almost straight away – so no emergency calls to the plumber.
When producing normal toilet paper, chemicals called BPA that are used in inking and dying are also put into the mix. Not to mention chlorine bleaching is used to make it white which can be damaging to your skin. Because toilet paper is not naturally absorbent, lots of additional ingredients are put in to make it soak up water, and break down more slowly. Bamboo on the other hand doesn’t need those extra ingredients or chemicals because it is naturally strong, soft, and anti-microbial due to the higher cellulose content and long fibres.
Even recycled toilet paper isn’t safe from chemicals. Because it’s made up of post-consumer recycled content (PCR), those BPA chemicals that are found in things like packaging and receipts also find their way into recycled toilet paper.
Because bamboo is completely natural, it also returns to the earth just as easily as it came from it. No harmful toxins or chemicals are being released because the bamboo is just naturally decomposing. Compare that to regular toilet paper which releases methane gas as well as all those chemicals that were put in during production.
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