Is plastic free toilet paper here?
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Plastic free toilet paper thanks to Akiyo
As you might remember, we’ve been on the search for plastic free toilet paper for a long time. It’s not a huge issue that toilet paper is wrapped in polythene because we can recycle it along with carrier bags at our local supermarket, but we still like to reduce plastic use as much as possible.
One of our readers, Akiyo, contacted us to say she and her husband had found a solution!
Thinking outside the box they found a bulk supply from Staples. Akiyo writes ” It seems to come in a cardboard box, and each packet simply wrapped in paper. I haven’t yet bought this product (as we have a healthy supply of plastic-wrapped loo rolls atm), so I can’t voucher yet to its plastic-freeness but I intend on trying it out once our stock runs low.”
As she points out, you’re supposed to use a plastic dispenser for this type of toilet roll, but why not just put a pile of it in a little basket in the bathroom?
What’s great about this particular toilet tissue is not only is it plastic free, but it’s recycled too.
So far we’ve only found two rolls of Andrex wrapped in paper which is ok if you live on your own and this option is fab if you don’t mind buying in bulk. What about you? Have you spotted any zero waste toilet paper?
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This looks good but I’m a bit worried about the “simple pile” concept when one has small children! Seems far tooooooo tempting to tiny fingers. Like you I can recycle polythene so i might be sticking to my 100% recycled loo paper bought from Traidcraft.
Great idea! I found two options for Canadians from Staples. Look forward too doing this in the future. I imagine Zero Waste Home would be curious. Last I read she bought individual paper wrapped rolls. In Canada it is about 50 cents for the bulk Saples purchase versus at least $1.50 for individual rolls. Huge savings.
I get my toilet rolls loose from a little health food/organic shop, where I can also bring my containers to refill on a few items from their bulk bins – they have rice, lentils, muesli, etc, and they also have unpackaged soaps and dried herbs that I buy.
I find there are a lot of things I can buy in this way, but unfortunately at different locations, in different towns. It can be very frustrating, and I really have to plan my shopping trips, and bulk buy when I can. As things are currently, you have to be pretty dedicated to live a (nearly totally) waste free life, let’s hope it gets better in time.
Scott toilet paper in the US is wrapped in paper in individual rolls. Is that brand available in the UK? I wonder if a person put those little dispenser tissues in a box and made them into a popup type tissue, would they be easier to dispense without grabbing too many. Quite frankly, I don’t want to go into a bathroom and use tp that others have had the opportunity to handle. Yes, I know, that’s the problems with loose rolls too, I wonder how many times they have fallen on the floor. So, these tissue would sort of creep me out. By the way, I use washcloths instead of tp. Oh, there is another brand wrapped in paper. The package contains many rolls. I will come back and tell you what brand that is.
I use a mixture of cloth and paper, and that has dramatically decreased how much loo roll we get through. I still have a problem with the children taking yards of the stuff when they use it, or when they can’t be bothered to go upstairs for a hankie, so I squidge the roll so it doesn’t run as easily!
I can just see the individual sheets ending up all over the floor, much as I like the idea, so I think I’m going to stick with the Nouvelle multi-packs for now.
@LJayne: 😀 I hear you on the little fingers syndrome. I’m getting an Andrex Puppy alert too!
@Jane Broome: Great Jane; glad it was helpful over there too!@Practical Parsimony: I’ve never heard of Scotts, so I’ll be interested to hear what the other brand is – thanks@Hazel: Squdging the roll is a great way to prevent kids using too much. We’re still contemplating wee cloths but haven’t got there yet!
No idea if you can get it there but I use Seventh Generation which I buy from Amazon because then it comes wrapped in paper and not plastic. I was so happy when Beth at My Plastic-Free Life told me about it. 🙂
Mrs Green, Maybe Scotts is not in UK. The other is Seventh Generation. Each roll is wrapped in paper and can be bought in a cardboard box.
@Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green: I don’t think it’s available over here; looks smashing though.
@Practical Parsimony: Thanks for that; I’m not sure either are available over here. Back to squares of newspaper then 😀