By Felicia Willis, Associate Editor, Pulp & Paper International magazine
ATLANTA,
March 11, 2009 (RISI) -
A viable alternative to toilet paper? Is that possible? What else could be as soft as toilet paper? The question we must ask ourselves is whether we truly need cottony soft, ultra soft, or even angel soft. Our ancestors seemed to be content with grass, leaves, fur, shells and corncobs. Ancient Greeks used stones and pieces of clay; ancient Romans used sponges on the ends of sticks, kept in jugs filled with salty water.
Because so much emphasis is being placed on recycling, we should consider other ways to recycle even toilet paper. Toilet paper from recycled materials is common in many countries, but in the US, tissue made from 100% recycled fibers is around 2% of the domestic use market among conventional and premium brands.
Toilet paper made from recycled material handles the job, and seems to do so without any cuts or scratches as a reminder. Considering once again, that our ancestors resorted to corncobs - I think that we as an evolved people can stand to use something that was not supposedly birthed from an angel, and help save the earth in the process.
While searching for toilet paper made from recycled materials can be a chore in itself, it can also pose other problems once you finally find it. Any recycled paper, even toilet paper needs to be deinked before it is pulped and processed. This deinking process may involve chlorine to bleach the paper. Chlorine based chemicals can react with paper fibers to create toxic compounds such as dioxin and organochlorines.
Dioxins are a group of toxic persistent organic chemicals that remain in the environment indefinitely. Dioxins are not deliberately produced, but are released into the environment as a result of combustion and other chemical processes. Human activities involving these processes include power generation and waste incineration, and the manufacture of metals and some chemicals.
Some types of organochlorides have significant toxicity to plants or animals, including humans. Dioxins, produced when organic matter is burned in the presence of chlorine, and some insecticides such as DDT are persistent organic pollutants which pose dangers when they are released into the environment.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), dioxins cause cancer in humans. Other sources are convinced it can cause learning disorders, decreased immune response and diabetes. It is interesting to note that the same chlorine issue is rampant when using virgin-fiber based toilet tissue.
When shopping for toilet paper that are less likely to kill the earth and you - look for statements such as "unbleached", "processed chlorine-free" or "totally chlorine free."
My research indicates that toilet paper from recycled materials costs around the same as what we're used to. Another way to save paper is resorting to 1 ply paper. Not only is less paper being used, but 1 ply also breaks down faster, which will make your septic system happy.
