Guardian UK: Let's wipe out toilet paper

[marmar]

Let's wipe out toilet paper
Using tissue after you've been to the loo is bad for the planet. Washing is the greener option – and it's more hygienic too


Christian Wolmar
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 March 2009 14.35 GMT


Toilet paper is a serious issue. But the minute one starts talking about it, the giggles start. So let me get my position out clearly first. Three years ago I went to India and discovered botty nirvana. While I was suffering from one of those inevitable bouts of Delhi belly, I was staying in a room with a spray attachment that allowed me to clean my anus – let's call spades spades here, it is not my bottom – without having to touch it or use paper.

It saved me from piles and rash, and definitely avoided a lot of pain. The first few times I checked whether I was clean with toilet paper but soon I realised that was unnecessary. I was spotless every time in both senses of the word.

So when I got back to Britain, I found that fortunately I had a shower attachment that reached over to the toilet and I could perform the same task. Result: large amounts of toilet paper saved, and a far cleaner and refreshed feeling that was far more hygienic. As for the wetness, there is a choice – either dab off with a small amount of toilet paper or use a towel specially for the purpose. Remember the towel is nothing more than drying off clean buttocks, pretty much the same as coming out of the shower, but obviously I change it regularly. Of course in the Indian heat, a bit of dampness did not matter.

Enough of my personal hygiene. Now for the wider points. If everyone in the world used as much toilet paper as people in the UK, let alone Americans, there would not be a single tree left. It is all very well talking about the sustainability of different brands, but in truth we should all be using water sprays. They are increasingly being fitted in India, replacing the rather more difficult jug and left hand technique which requires rather more contact than most westerners can contemplate. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/04/stop-using-toilet-paper

[Lost in CT]

1. I have spent some serious time in India...

I'm not sure I would be taking bathroom cleanliness and etiquette classes from them... Now the Japanese on the other hand know a clean toilet.