Toilet paper. How much have we stopped to think about what we use on a daily basis?

4 min readMay 7, 2021

The toilet paper is made with a resistant texture to the use and has been designed to dissolve when deposited in the toilet, without damaging the pipes.
According to the data, it is known since the second century in China, invented by Cai Lun; although its use is also mentioned since the 6th century BC. By the 14th century there was already an annual production of toilet paper in Zhejiang. In the courts of the Chinese empire thousands of sheets of toilet paper were used, which was even scented.
In other places with greater purchasing power they used woolen cloths, linen, hemp; In places with less purchasing power, cleaning was done by hand and water, old rags, herbs and plant leaves, sand, moss, or different materials according to the customs of the country.
There were in the public baths of Rome, a sponge tied to a stick, which was immersed in a bucket with salty water, available and shared for those who passed by those thrones.
Joseph Gayetty is credited with the invention of toilet paper as we know it today, although it was not really accepted at first, because people preferred not to invest their money in acquiring a product that they could have for free (those who preferred to use the newspaper, for example , or another device suitable for your needs). It was then that the Clarence brothers commercialized the paper in rolls, a presentation that was taken over by hospitals and hotels, before the general public.
By the time wet wipes went on sale, at England in 1958, a new product was offered with greater cleaning effectiveness compared to dry toilet paper, however, as this option was used, clogged pipes and similar problems appeared, of what arose in 2016 awareness campaigns not to throw wipes down the toilet.
Consumption data
On a world average (2010) each person uses 4 kg of paper per year, considering a Swedish-type consumption with an average of 15 kg / person per year and the United States with 22 kg per person per year.
Most toilet paper is currently produced from virgin fiber, cellulose from trees dedicated exclusively to this. 20% of this comes from reforestation plantations.
270,000 trees are cut down daily for the production of paper and the industry moves around 340,000 million euros a year.
A lot of water is used in papermaking, ranging from 150,000 to 200,000 liters for one ton of paper. In addition, to achieve the white coloration of the paper, bleaches and chlorines are used that are deposited in rivers and seas, poisoning the species that live there, and despite this the legislation for this type of discharge is not really clear.
According to the UNAM’s (Mexico Autonomous National University)monthly science outreach magazine, in the article “Throw it down the toilet !, fecalism also includes the custom of depositing toilet paper with fecal waste in a trash bin inside the bathroom, storing it in a bag and delivering it to garbage collectors, with the drainage systems that exist today, the most responsible thing to deposit this waste is to let it go down the toilet. In this way we avoid that the paper with the feces exposed to the environment becomes a source of diseases; for example, the Enterobacteriaceae Escherichia coli that develops in fecal material and are ingested in contaminated water and it can also travel in the air, when inhaled it generates inflammation in the respiratory tract.
Reflection
If we take advantage of the ability of toilet paper to disintegrate in water once deposited in the toilet, we will be helping to reduce the amount of fecal waste that is deposited in outdoor spaces and consequently the diseases that it can attract with it.

We must realize that many of the toilet paper acquisition habits are related to the lack of information, as well as our preferences and tastes; for example, there are people who prefer white toilet paper because it is associated with cleanliness, or those who seek softness, or there are even those who use much more paper than necessary each time they go to the bathroom. However, it would be better to include more than our comfort in consumption decisions, and think about the inputs used in the manufacturing process, their quality, the impact they will have on the environment once discarded, among other things. That is, do you know how many chemicals are necessary for the paper you use to be white? Or how many trees are cut down to get softer paper? And do you know where all the papers you used are deposited?

Currently there are even studies and guides to select the toilet paper that best suits us according to different quality indicators that are adapted to our contexts, with which we can make a conscious purchase.

It would be interesting to know the drainage systems of our homes, how it connects with the local system, where it empties and what treatment the sewage receives, or, if it is a septic tank, to know the capacity and condition of the pipes and storage, so that in this way we decide based on multiple criteria, the most responsible way with our health, the environment and the drainage systems, to dispose of our toilet paper. And you, have you investigated how the drainage system of your house and town is built?
The reason for being critical about our consumer responsibility around toilet paper has to do with creating collective awareness and generating actions that keep us in a healthy environment and caring for nature.

Some of the sources consulted:

Juárez Claudia. ¡Tíralo a la basura! UNAMirada a la ciencia. Año III. (Número 40). http://www.unamiradaalaciencia.unam.mx/download/pdf_stc/unamirada_stc_40.pdf

This is a very interesting article that you can read on a trip to the throne, it is about some tests made to different brands of paper to compare the features that give more reliability when selecting the toilet paper that we will buy, verify what they propose and after when buying:

https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/100478/RC421_Estudio_Papel_Higienico.pdf

Toilet paper. How much have we stopped to think about what we use on a daily basis?

Written by Aleph Ambiental