We want to use the best possible toilet paper every day. When faced with so many toilet paper choices, we might wonder if toilet paper can really have that big of an impact on the environment. In reality, we collectively use such large amounts of toilet paper that choosing an eco-friendly version is vital.
When thinking about different types of toilet paper, two that often come to mind are traditional tree-based toilet paper and bamboo toilet paper. When making our choice, it is important that we consider many factors, such as what our toilet paper is made up of, how toilet paper is packaged, and how well toilet paper breaks down after it is used. With this information, we can choose the toilet paper that will best meet our household needs.
What Materials Can Be Used To Make Toilet Paper?
Traditional toilet paper is made from virgin wood fibers or from a combination of recycled paper pulp mixed in water with chemical sulfates to help it break down, starches that create wet strength, and chemicals to make it white. Virgin fiber toilet paper is made using a combination of softwood and hardwood trees. This means that making traditional toilet paper either needs trees to be cut down, which can take 30–100 years to grow, or uses a lot of harsh chemicals that we do not want near our sensitive skin. Traditional toilet paper is responsible for destroying 27,000 trees daily.
On the other hand, bamboo toilet paper is made from bamboo, which is a fast-growing plant. Bamboo does not need pesticides to grow and needs less water than other crops. Bamboo toilet paper is made with a sustainable plant that absorbs more carbon dioxide from the air and produces 30% more oxygen, effectively cleaning the air and reducing the effects of greenhouse gasses. In addition, like other grasses, bamboo can be harvested again and again, so we can both use it and have it to use later.
How Is Toilet Paper Packaged?
Traditional toilet paper often comes to us in plastic packaging that we have to toss since it is not recyclable. It can take 1,000 years for a plastic wrap to degrade in a landfill, and unfortunately, they typically don't break down completely but instead photo-degrade, becoming microplastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment. This means that choosing traditional toilet paper can have a major impact on the planet in the long term.
On the other hand, bamboo toilet paper from Seek Bamboo comes in plastic-free packaging that can be recycled. This means choosing bamboo toilet paper also helps us reduce our reliance on plastics and is an easy change we can make that can make a big difference. This also means that when we choose bamboo toilet paper, we are reducing the waste our home creates, which is good for us and for the planet. Consider this your zero-waste toilet paper of choice.
How Well Does Toilet Paper Break Down?
Surprisingly, traditional toilet paper typically does not break down fully once it has been used. This means traditional toilet paper (and even recycled toilet paper) tends to clog pipes and septic systems, which can lead to messy and costly repairs. Traditional toilet paper is problematic because it is made of long fibers that take much longer to break down and require a more specialized environment to fully degrade. Traditional toilet paper can cause a lot of headaches, as anyone who has old plumbing could tell us.
Bamboo toilet paper, on the other hand, is 100% biodegradable and takes about a quarter of the time to decompose as compared to conventional or recycled paper toilet tissues. This means using bamboo toilet paper is a good way to make sure our plumbing is humming away. This is good news both for our pipes and for our community's water management department. The more likely something is to break down completely, the more likely it will not cause problems for anyone in the long term. That's right, bamboo toilet paper is septic safe!
Overall, when we compare bamboo toilet paper with regular toilet paper, we find that bamboo toilet paper is better. It is made from eco-friendly bamboo. It does not come with lots of packaging that simply fills up our landfills. Bamboo toilet paper also breaks down better after it is used, which means that our home's pipes or septic systems will be happier. Finally, bamboo toilet paper is both very strong and very soft, which means that we can use it without having to give up on comfort. When choosing between bamboo and regular toilet paper, bamboo toilet paper is the best option for most of our homes.
