Recycled toilet paper has been used in the bathrooms of my humble home for many years now. Having read some statistics a while ago on the negative environmental impact virgin fiber toilet paper has on the number of trees that grace this earth, recycled TP seemed a no-brainer.
I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.
I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.
The truth is we couldn’t exist without trees. Putting aside their lovelier aspects such as providing shade, animal habitat, fruit and beauty,
- Trees produce oxygen. One mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year.
- Forests serve as giant filters that clean the air we breath by intercepting and retaining airborne particles, reducing heat, and absorbing such pollutants as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
- Trees clean the soil, absorbing dangerous chemicals and other pollutants that enter the soil, either storing them or actually changing the pollutants into less harmful forms.
- To produce its food, a tree absorbs and locks away carbon dioxide in the wood, roots and leaves, taking it out of our atmosphere. With the imminent threat of global warming/climate change looming over our status quo lives, trees are essential to absorbing the carbon created by our current addiction to fossil fuels.
Trees are clearly essential to our lives and need to be protected. Yet recently I was having days here and there where I secretly longed for softer toilet tissue. Recycled toilet paper has come a long way, but it’s smoother than it is soft. I began to wonder what the harm would be in buying a softer brand and occasionally alternating it with 100% recycled. On my next visit to the grocery store I came upon and purchased Scott’s Naturals, which is 40% recycled. I thought this was a reasonable compromise.
Still, it wasn’t sitting easily with me. I had to do more research in order to feel at greater peace with my new TP choice. It may seem silly that I was spending this much time on a basic household product, but the Lorax was on my shoulder, and I’ve always been one to listen to the Lorax.
Words for a Better World 