The title of this post is a quote someone said to me while we were having a discussion about buying recycled products. I was talking about how excited I was because I found a new recycled paper product for toilet paper and paper towels which is economical, effective and comfortable enough that those who use it in my place don’t complain with various remarks about cardboard or sand paper. Then my friend said the title quote. To which I laughed and asked what that person was talking about. They simply responded that they couldn’t make themselves use recycled toilet paper. To which I responded “you know it’s not used toilet paper recycled, it’s paper recycled and turned into toilet paper.” They didn’t respond, but regardless of what they thought I would like everyone reading this to know, toilet paper dissolves when you flush it down your toilet and becomes a part of the wastewater flowing from your house. It’s not recoverable.
The point is we should not be afraid of recycled paper products in our homes. The average American uses 3,000 tons of paper towels and about 20,000 sheets of toilet paper per year. 98% of toilet paper and paper towel brands use virgin paper, which is paper straight from trees. The reason for this huge amount of virgin paper usage is because that is what Americans buy. If you could recycle 1 short ton (0.91 ton) of paper it saves 17 mature trees, 7 thousand US gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil (84 US gal), and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity — enough energy to power the average American home for six months. That’s recycling not even 1 full ton. And since, as I mention above, the average American uses 3,000 tons of just paper towels a year if 100% of those paper towels are recycled it could save up to 51,000 mature trees a year.
As I spoke of in my cleaning products post, being a smart consumer and buying recycled paper products will cause more companies to use recycled paper in their products. As consumers we have the power to change things through what we buy. Nowadays there are more and better choices than ever for recycled paper products and you can find them easily right in your normal grocery store.
My favorite products come from Marcal Small Steps. They have great products which are cheap (yes cheap!) and which feel just like virgin toilet paper. The two-ply, double roll four pack is actually cheaper than a Scott brand two-ply, double roll four pack. The Marcal paper towels are also great and comparable in price to other virgin paper towels. The only product from Marcal which I’m not super happy about is the facial tissues as I find them a little rough. Marcal Small Steps is made from 100% recycled paper and are hypoallergenic, virtually lint free, and whitened without chlorine bleaching. I’m not paid by this brand or anyone to advertise, I just want to show my readers there are good, economic products out there you can choose and I promise both you and your back side will feel good very comfortable with the choice.
Citations:
“Marcal Small Steps, Our Products.” http://www.marcalpaper.com/products.html
“Paper Recycling – Frequent Qusetions” US Environmental Protection Agency. September, 2008. http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/paper/faqs.htm
Shapley, D. “15 Facts About the Paper Industry, Global Warming, and the Environment.” The Daily Green. November, 2007. http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/7447
"Wastes - Resource Conservation - Common Wastes & Materials - Paper Recycling". US Environmental Protection Agency. September, 2008. http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/paper/basics/index.htm
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