Monday, March 30, 2020

Toilet paper is a giant waste of resources

Americans consume the most toilet paper in the world but it's a very wasteful product to manufacture, according to the numbers.



  • Toilet paper consumption is unsustainable and requires a tremendous amount of resources to produce.
  • Americans use the most toilet paper in the world and have been hoarding it due to coronavirus.
  • Alternatives to toilet paper are gaining more popularity with the public.

I was going to plumb in a bidet as it's dead easy to do, but some guy on Amazon said his one leaked and it destroyed his kitchen ceiling. There is no overflow for the plumbed in type, shown below. I found the portable type to be excellent, but some are better than others. 




The Big Think


13 comments:

Matt Franko said...

Its not called the Turd World for nothing....

Greg said...

A plumber came to my house a few months ago and told me that toilet paper and garbage disposals are the reasons for almost all residential plumbing calls. Without them residential plumbing calls would fall to near zero.

Greg said...

I’ve started composting to reduce problems to my kitchen drain( the reason for the house call) I’m now going to look into greatly reducing TP use.

snowball1205 said...

We use a Toto Washlet and have for 20 years. I just installed a new one 6 weeks ago.
These just fit on the existing toilet. The biggest problem is there is normally no electrical outlet
near the toilet so these need to be installed. They work great.

Kaivey said...

You can get ones that just work off water now, no electrics required. The buttons are valves.

There are plenty of toilets now that have bidets built it. I wonder why in the West we never did this before?

Tom Hickey said...

I can recommend Toto toilets based on experience. Don't have a Washlet but I am sure that it is a superior product in keeping with Toto's quality. The downside is expense.

There are attachable bidets beginning at about $30, and some of the lower priced ones get four to five stars from users. But the least expensive ones attach to the cold water line for the toilet.

I got the order to get one so I am shopping around now.

Tom Hickey said...

In Iowa City, trash collection include separating landfill trash, recyclables and compostables into provided containers for weekly pick up.

Greg said...

Yeah we have a non profit “kids for composting” we are supporting right now for about 20$/mth but I’d like to see the city get involved. I do not want a composting bin in my yard. I don’t have garden or anything at present

Calgacus said...

some guy on Amazon said his one leaked and it destroyed his ceiling.

That may be the problem. I suggest putting it on the floor, not the ceiling.

Kaivey said...

I better change it to kitchen ceiling.

Tom Hickey said...

She thinks that a portable one will do. And no worries about the ceiling. :o

S400 said...

Thumbs up can be useful.

Peter Pan said...

Toilet paper, books, and liners for birdcages. In theory, we could end the use of paper entirely.