No, toilet paper is good. Paper towels are bad.
Hundreds of millions of tons of paper towels go into the trash every year. There are simple ways to reduce this number:
- Take fewer paper towels to dry your hands in public restrooms. Or, use the hand dryers instead, if available.
- Compost any unbleached, chlorine-free paper towels you might have.
- Hang an array of kitchen towels in your kitchen.
- Let your dishes air dry rather than drying them with a paper towel.
- Cut up an old shirt that otherwise might have been thrown away.
Because of their fundamental similarities, I also briefly researched toilet paper waste. I must admit that I was relieved that nothing jumped out at me to discount the importance of toilet paper, but I did find ways to conserve toilet paper.
- The obvious: Keep your children and pets away. Don’t let your kids dress up like a mummy. Buy your cats a scratching post.
- Use what you need.
- Restrain yourself from covering the entire seat. If you’re a healthy adult, you are very unlikely to catch disease from sitting on the bare porcelain.
- Before placing the roll on the holder, give it a squeeze to eliminate the propensity for excess spinning.
- Let the paper roll over rather than under. When rolled over, more friction is present, causing the toilet paper to remain in place when tearing the necessary sheets away.
You don’t have to buy a Sham-Wow (or dollar-store knockoff) to replace your absorbent paper towel roll. That XXXXL old team-building shirt you’ve managed to forget or felt too guilty to donate would make a great cleaning cloth. There are many ways to save money while reducing your paper product usage. Think before you reach: Is there another, more eco-friendly option?
by S. Ameri
