The bog blog! If you already buy recycled toilet paper and simply want to avoid plastic packaging, there are easy alternatives. If you also want to avoid the plastic contained in the actual toilet paper, it becomes a little more difficult. It all depends on your level of commitment to the cause and on weighing up the pros and cons:
1) Recycled paper with compostable packaging
Pros: Suma’s Ecoleaf toilet paper & kitchen towel, to pick just one example, are made in the UK with 100% recycled paper from a blend of consumer waste and offcuts from manufacturers’ waste. The 100% compostable wrap is sustainable, renewable, non-polluting, non-toxic and unbleached. So far so good.
Cons: Paper collected for recycling includes many items such as thermal receipts and magazines that contain a nasty type of plastic called BPA. There is much written about this on US websites. If you want to avoid contact with BPA and are worried about flushing plastic chemicals down the loo and ultimately into the oceans, don’t buy recycled paper products.
2) Plant- based paper in compostable packaging
Pros: Greencane paper products are made from 70% recycled sugarcane and bamboo fibre and 30% certified wood pulp. Packaging is 100% compostable including the see-through cellophane. The whole lot is sustainably sourced and is free of inks, fragrances and plastic. I like this product very much (see picture). Greencane now also do ‘naked’ toilet paper of 48 unwrapped rolls shipped by mailorder in a single cardboard box.
Cons: Greencane paper was developed by a couple from New Zealand, is produced in China and is therefore shipped a long way. It’s probably more expensive compared to the other options.
3) Homemade toilet cloths
Pros: You may think I’m kidding but just search for fabric toilet cloth on the internet and you will find that a lot of families do this. Made from old fabric, disposed of in separate bins and then carefully laundered – no packaging, no carbon footprint.
Cons: I could probably come up with something, but fabric toilet cloth brigade I salute you! Nevertheless, I’m going to stick with Greencane paper for now.
Where to buy:
- Ecoleaf is sold in health food shops (Sunshine in Stroud for example) and ethical supermarkets. Also online from various sellers such as http://www.spiritofnature.co.uk/products/ecoleaf/
- Greencane products can be ordered direct at https://greencane.com/shop/united-kingdom and can also be found in health food shops
- Reusable cloth wipes for all occasions: http://www.cheekywipes.com/toilet-paper-alternative-family-cloth.html
Read more:
- Plastic in recycled toilet paper:
http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/recycled-toilet-paper.html - BPA found in 15 types of paper products:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es202507f?tokenDomain=presspac&tokenAccess=presspac&forwardService=showFullText&journalCode=esthag - Frugal living – reusable toilet cloths:
http://www.frugallivingnw.com/reusable-cloth-toilet-paper-faqs/