When it comes to toilet paper, we can use regular tree-based toilet paper, recycled toilet paper, or bamboo toilet paper. While bamboo toilet paper is known for being environmentally friendly, we wonder how a plant like bamboo is transformed into the soft and strong bamboo toilet paper that we all like. The process of making bamboo toilet paper is fascinating, and it is also crucial to understand how it differs from the process of making normal toilet paper. Switching to bamboo toilet paper can have a significant influence on our household's environmental footprint, and that adds up quickly.
The First Step to Making Bamboo Toilet Paper: Growing Bamboo
The first step in making bamboo toilet paper is to grow the bamboo. Bamboo grows very rapidly. Some bamboo species are even known to grow more than 35 inches in a single day. This means, if we were sitting in a bamboo forest, we could watch bamboo grow in real time. This is much faster than trees, which can take anywhere from 10 to 120 years to reach maturity. This also means that when we plant bamboo crops, we know we will be able to harvest them quickly.
In addition, bamboo produces 35% more oxygen than an equivalent tree mass. Furthermore, bamboo can be harvested in a way that allows farmers to work with rather than against the local ecosystem. Bamboo is inherently insect resistant, so pesticides are not required when growing it. Bamboo can also be farmed in a manner that helps minimize deforestation. Bamboo requires less water and irrigation to grow, which means that it has fewer adverse effects on our waterways and does not pollute our water tables.
Growing bamboo is more environmentally friendly and sustainable in general than many other crops. Furthermore, because it is a crop that can be harvested numerous times, it provides farmers with a consistent and predictable revenue stream, relieving them of the need to expand into environmentally sensitive environments. Farmers do not need to continue cultivating ever bigger regions in order to thrive, as is often the situation with trees.
The Second Step to Making Bamboo Toilet Paper: Creating The Toilet Paper
The bamboo plant is cut into small pieces and pulped without the use of chemicals using a mix of heat and water. After that, it is cleaned and bleached using hydrogen peroxide or chlorine-free methods. At this point, it has become bamboo pulp, which can be pressed into toilet paper.
The process is similar to if we have ever tried making homemade paper. Pulp and water are combined and put into a paper machine, where they are flattened, dried, and cut into sheets and rolls. These rolls are then packed and delivered to us through our bamboo toilet paper subscription service.
How Does Making Bamboo Toilet Paper Compare to Other Toilet Paper?
Bamboo toilet paper is environmentally friendly because it is renewable, biodegradable, and sustainable. Regular toilet paper, on the other hand, is frequently made of virgin pulp, which means that trees are cut down to produce the toilet paper we just flushed down the drain. This means regular toilet paper can cause deforestation and other environmental problems. In many cases, bamboo toilet paper is just as strong as regular toilet paper and even softer. This means there is no reason to cut down trees only to turn them into toilet paper.
Seek Bamboo's toilet paper is also better for the environment than recycled toilet paper. A combination of chemicals is required to break down recycled paper, bleach it, and turn it into toilet paper. Bisphenol-A, or BPA, is one of the chemicals of concern detected in residues on recycled toilet paper. BPA exposure has been connected to reproductive issues, heart disease, and endocrine issues. Recycled toilet paper has also been shown to contain halogenated hydrocarbons. These chlorinated chemicals are proven carcinogens and polluters of the environment. On the other hand, bamboo toilet paper is made without the need for any of these harsh chemicals.
When determining what type of toilet paper to use, it is vital to consider how toilet paper is made in order to really understand its environmental impact. After we explore how bamboo toilet paper is manufactured, we find that it is an excellent solution for all of our toilet paper needs. As we all become more conscious of our household's environmental impact, identifying simple changes that may make a huge difference is becoming increasingly important. As a result, bamboo toilet paper is the ideal option for the majority of our houses. Want to learn more? Check out everything you need to know about bamboo toilet paper in our zero waste blog section.
