Why does this matter and what does this have to do with toilet paper, you ask?
Well, it matters because even though BPA has been banned in many plastic containers including baby bottles, both BPA its chemical cousin, BPS are still in our daily lives.
Recently, two studies had been published in Environmental Science & Technology, conducted by Kurunthachalam Kannan, PhD. This man is a research scientist with the New York State Department of Health in Albany, a professor in the department of environmental health sciences in the School of Public Health at the State University of New York at Albany and was co-author of these two recent studies on BPA and BPS in paper products.
What the studies showed, alarmingly, is that BPA and BPS appear to be just about everywhere. Paper products from all walks of life were tested in the studies - paper towels, napkins, newspapers, magazines, flyers, tickets, luggage tags, business cards, envelopes, currency, facial tissues and toilet paper. The majority of all these products were found to contain either BPA or BPS or both.
So the issue here is NOT just toilet paper. Yes, recycled toilet paper contains BPA and BPS however most other types of paper, particularly thermal paper and of as a result most types of recycled paper ALSO contained these two dangerous endocrine disruptors.
I have read a lot about this issue today and been wracking my brains to think of solutions to the toilet paper issue but also the larger issue as a whole.
BPA and BPS are still allowed to be used in manufacture here and in the USA because the lobbying has not been heard or not been loud enough. We now have a situation at hand where even if you go plastic free you can not escape from these nasty chemicals. Really though, whoâs fault is that? Ours of course.
How many letters have you written to parliament about this issue?
How many times have you contacted the FDA in USA or Food Standards Australia (who copy everything the FDA do)?
Anyway, back to solutions for the problem.
Proposed solution 1: Avoid recycled paper products.
Problem : Whilst good in theory, this doesnât go even half the way to resolving this issue. By avoiding recycled paper products, we are then reverting back to using virgin tree pulp for paper, toilet paper and the like. This is not a viable, sustainable or long term solution. Its knee-jerk reaction and hasnât been thought through enough. Recycled paper products are EVERYWHERE and BPA and BPS laden paper products abound to. We live in a world where its basically impossible to escape chemical exposure.
By avoiding recycled paper products, yes, you MAY avoid some exposure to BPA and BPS but you risk potentially crippling a long standing green industry that has been responsible for keeping many many trees alive and well today.
Problem: Whilst this is a fine idea, I donât know about you but as a Mum I can barely juggle all the cloth and hessian reusable bags, my baby girl, my wallet and keys at the cash register let alone having to put on gloves too. Additionally, what TYPE of gloves â plastic, rubber, disposable? Isnât this exacerbating an already serious problem regarding disposable products filling up landfill?
Proposed Solution 3: Switch back to virgin pulp paper products
Problem: Personally, I cannot stomach the thought of more native forests being cleared, the world over, because I want to wipe my butt with something white and âpureâ. This stuff is still bleached which means youâre exposed to potential dioxins and other nasties from the bleaching chemicals!
The issues with this solution are three fold;
1. Virgin pulp paper products can have up to 30% INORGANIC matter in them, meaning stuff that DOES NOT biodegrade or break down.
2. Clearing more forests, land and tree farms for the sake of virgin pulp toilet paper, whilst eliminating one issue creates a deficit in the carbon absorption for the entire planet. If we keep clearing trees, which are one of the best ways to sequest our planets current carbon load, then we are setting the entire planet up for further disaster.
3. Whilst you may not be exposed to BPA or BPS through virgin pulp products, there are still heavy duty chemicals used in manufacturing paper from virgin tree pulp. You are not eliminating the environmental or toxic chemical exposure issues by opting for virgin paper at all â you are merely moving them, jumping from one chemical to another.
Revised Solution 1: I am in the process of looking more thoroughly into this, including the process of manufacture to determine a) safety and b) sustainability however, I think in light of recent discussions regarding the use or not, of recycled paper products it is time to give Bamboo, Elephant dung and Hemp paper products their share of the paper product stage.
I have personally been using bamboo toilet paper in our home for a month now. I find it stronger and more effective than normal recycled toilet paper and I feel good that bamboo is one of the fastest growing crops in the world today. It requires less water, less land and the yield is far greater than that of tree farming for virgin pulp.
The Chinese have been making paper, mechanically or by hand, from bamboo for over 1500 years â without chemical intervention so it can be done. Currently, there are chemical processes doing a âmechanicalâ job for bamboo and I suspect other types of paper too.
Revised Solution 2: Switch to The Family Cloth
In regards to toilet paper, specifically, I have avoided the idea of The Family Cloth like the plague. Why? Because I thought it would be icky.
Having been over several other blogs and website touting the benefits of this way of living, I am now open to reconsidering the idea.
We use cloth nappies at home for our daughter, we use a combo of bamboo wipes and cloth wipes and have had no issues with hygiene, bacteria, cleanliness or otherwise. In some ways, we are cleaner at home despite the pooey nappy bucket then those who opt for disposable everything in attempt to stay on top of housework.
Whatâs the difference between cloth wipes and cloth nappies for our bub and The Family Cloth?
Problem: The ick factor â I admit, itâs a big one.
However, I have switched to a natural rubber DivaCup a year ago, and cloth pads 6 months ago with great results and I am very pleased to say I am NEVER going back to âsposie feminine hygiene products. So, the ick factor is mostly to do with my hubby than myself. I donât know how Iâd be washing HIS family cloth however, one can only try!
Environmentally I cannot see any real issues here. Get an old shirt, some old flannel sheets or flannel wraps, make smaller squares and voila! Upcycle here and sheâll be apples. We already have a hose fixed to the cistern tap on our toilet for sluicing nappies and a nappy bucket in our bathroom so switching to The Family Cloth means that it all goes in together.
When I consider solutions to challenges such as these, I think in terms of scalability - is this solution viable when you multiply it by one BILLION? If the answer is no, then its not a solution - its a band aid. Band aids is what got us into this mess in the first place, globally speaking.
Yes, there is increased chemical exposure when using recycled paper products. That is more because there are chemicals in basically ALL paper products and paper manufacturing processes rather than recycled being the new âevilâ thing.
Sadly, itâs now almost unavoidable â by using current paper products available today, mostly made through chemical manufacturing processes, we will increase our exposure to chemicals like BPA, BPS and dioxins.
I firmly believe though that the answer is NOT simply to switch back to virgin pulp â there are more factors to consider here than just BPA and BPS. There are chemicals used in manufacture of virgin paper products such as sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide not to mention the dioxin containing chlorines used for bleaching.
Issues like this require us to think long and hard about solutions â not just jump back onto the easiest option (in this case switching back to virgin pulp paper products and not thinking about it further). To really clean up this area, it requires lobbying â government, manufacturers, the FDA and Food Standards Australia.
Just do it via email â save exposure to more nasties through either virgin tree paper or recycled paper! ;)
Love and bamboo,
The Eco Mum xo
Wikipedia â Kraft Process
The Polivka Family
Bottom Line Publications - Toxic Toilet Paper? You Got It
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