One might think that toilet paper is so common that most of the people in the world will be using it. But the fact is that about 70% of the people in the world don’t use toilet paper. There are quite a few reasons for this. Lack of trees, financial difficulties, etc. are a few of the reasons.
But for a large population of the world, water is the solution and not toilet paper. As the article is on toilet paper, we will leave water out and concentrate on the paper.
A study has found that for one man’s lifetime need for toilet paper; you need to cut down 384 trees. To protect the trees, there are machines in offices that turn copier paper into toilet rolls.
Before people started using paper for the job, they used a variety of items, including sponges, stones, bricks, corn cobs, etc. Even before toilet paper was produced, people were using various other paper products like a used magazine, notebooks, newspapers, paper bags, etc.
Understanding The Production Of Toilet Rolls
Toilet paper came into existence in 1880 when it was sold as squares. In 1890 it started being available as rolls. They were not perforated, and people depended on the sharp teeth on the dispenser to tear away the pieces they wanted.
People were ashamed to ask for toilet papers by name, and they were sold covered in brown paper bags to avoid embarrassment to the person purchasing it. Since the time they were started to be made, there is hardly any change in them except certain cosmetic changes like being embossed, colored, or scented.
Toilet paper is normally made from virgin paper, which means new paper and not recycled paper. The paper for tissues is made from a mixture of the pulp of both hardwood and softwood. This is what gives it the qualities of strength and softness. The bark from the trees is removed before the pieces of wood are cooked.
The pulp is washed and treated to remove unwanted chemicals from it. The pulp is made into a very diluted solution with water. The solution is sprayed on the mesh to drain the water and dry it into paper sheets. The drying of the paper is done.
It then undergoes a process called creping, which is what gives the toilet paper a wrinkled appearance. The paper is processed to make it disintegrate quickly when put in water. This helps in flushing it in the toilet.
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What Number Of Toilet Papers Are Normally Being Used Per Wipe?
If you thought there was a clear answer to this, then you will be disappointed. Different people use toilet papers in different ways. Some people will scrunch them into balls and use them and those who wrap them around the hands and use more paper for the job.
Some people use more sheets when they are using a public facility. It is not due to any hygiene issues. It is only out of consideration for the next person waiting. Using more will ensure that you got out of the toilet faster.
We cannot arrive at a figure for the use of toilet sheets because it can vary very vastly from household to household. But one thing that everyone agrees is that there must be moderate use of toilet paper as it consumes a lot of trees.
The soft toilet paper that many people prefer cuts more hardwood trees. The consumption of toilet paper varies from country to country too.
There are also differences in consumption from country to country. But the study on how many rolls each person uses cannot be found easily because the figures for per-person consumption is taken from the total sale of toilet paper in each country.
This figure is given in weight and not in numbers of rolls. So, the number of rolls is calculated, assuming that all rolls weigh the same. This is not true because, for different manufacturers, the weight could be different.
Individual study on this has shown that people vary a lot on the usage, and there cannot be a consensus figure. There is a difference between the use of men and women. One roll per person per week seems to be a fairly average figure.
Is Using Toilet Rolls or Water Better?
This is a debate that has been going on for quite a long time now. There are views on both sides. While many agree that water is better than toilet paper, some have been using toilet papers and cannot just get used to using water suddenly.
There are views that people who use toilet rolls never knew that water was used and are getting used to the idea now.
Coming to the point of hygiene, both are hygienic. Toilet paper does absorb a lot of what you want to clean. But you can’t say they are better than water. This is probably the reason that more people are now turning to use water.
Those who have been using paper and got the experience of using water to seem to like it. Water is the ultimate cleaning agent, and nothing can be better. The use of bidet and sprayers are increasing even in countries where people were only using toilet papers.
The topic of how many toilet rolls each person should use is of interest only because of the direct relationship between the production of toilet rolls and cutting of trees. But is the effect on the environment that much that we should cut down on the use of toilet rolls? Toilet rolls are made mainly from virgin fiber. Toilet rolls made from recycled paper doesn’t have the quality. It is neither comfortable, nor does it do the job well. But the word virgin fiber does not mean that large trees are being cut down to make toilet rolls. Most companies grow forests responsibly for this purpose. Another aspect is that most of the wood used for making toilet rolls come from small pieces, which are waste products after the wood has been used for other purposes. The use of virgin fiber also helps to reduce the consumption of toilet rolls as they are more effective. There is no big effect on the environment because of the production of toilet rolls. Recommended Resources Conclusion
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