The Bathroom.
The things you do the most have the largest impact on the planet.
There are always options. Whether were talking about your toothbrush, toilet paper, soap or even your toilet itself, you have options that are better for the planet. Here is a little info to help you choose better in context of the bathroom.
Your Teeth.
There are options.
Brushing your teeth is important for a lot of reasons. Bad breath ranked the #1 turn off in one dating survey. Also, cavities are expensive. Whatever your motivation, you should really brush your teeth.
According to a number I saw in Nation Geographic the average person uses around 300 toothbrushes in their lifetime. That’s a lot of plastic in a landfill.
There are better ways. Opt for a bamboo or other biodegradable option. Pricewise they are affordable and available from a number of companies. Even if you prefer an electric toothbrush, there are biodegradable options there.
To learn more about some of the options available click here to look at the toothbrush blog post.
Toilet Paper.
Worst. Better. Best.
Best: None.
What are the options?
Worst: Regular toilet paper made from trees. It’s the standard stuff you buy from the store. It cutting down trees isn’t ad enough; it usually comes wrapped in plastic. So, standard toilet paper requires clearing of land (unsustainably because of how long it takes trees to grow), the exhaust from the machines that cut and move the trees, electricity to run the processing machines and create packaging. About 37 gallons of water is used in the process of making 1 roll! And then there is the fuel burned during transportation to the store. It’s a lot.
Better option: Recycled or bamboo toilet paper. These come from sustainable sources. bamboo grows really fast so it is truly a sustainable option, as is recycling. Also, these brands usually use paper wrapping instead of plastic. But there is the drawback of the transportation costs to the environment through the processing of the toilet paper, the packaging and transportation to you.
Best: None. If you haven’t heard of it there is an appliance called a bidet. This is like a device that can be separate from your toilet or even added as an accessory.
Your toilet.
What are the options?
Toilets can be very inefficient in terms of water use. This can hit your pocketbook if you have a water bill as well at hit the environment that you live in. Waste that goes through public sewers needs to be processed before it makes its way back into the water cycle. Extra processing means extra electricity, which means more impact on the environment. The less water wasted the better. A good place to start is your toilet.
Older toilets use 5-7 gallons of water to flush. New models use as little as 1.25 gallons.
As you can see, traditional toilets use A LOT of water. Often more water than they need.
Options to decrease water use by your toilet:
Replace your toilet with a low water toilet.
Reduce your water use is by putting a brick or stone in the tank. This will displace water in the tank and therefore use less water to flush. If you are renting and replacing the toilet isn’t an option, this is a good one. I used a brick before. I’ve used rocks other times. I played around with placement in the tank until I found a spot that allowed it to flush adequately. If there is too little water in the tank you’ll have to flush twice and that’s the kind of thing we want to avoid!
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