Global use of toilet paper

Worldwide, 42 million tons of toilet paper is used every year. That’s about 184 billion rolls or 22 billion kilometers of toilet paper that if spread out would cover or an area of 2.2 million square kilometers. All this toilet paper could go around the planet every 10 minutes, or travel to the sun and back every 7 days. It could also cover an area almost 3 times the size of France every year.

Environmental impact of toilet paper

The 42 million tons of toilet paper used globally annually have a significant environmental impact. The productions requires:

• 712 million trees
• 1,165 millions tons of water
• 78 million tons of oil

Why recycling works

Toilet paper made from recycled paper requires no trees being cut down. Put differently, the difference between using new toilet paper and toilet paper made from recycled materials is 712 million trees. In addition, recycling saves about half the water usage and one third of the energy. Recycled toilet paper and home tissue products are widely available.