Making time for eco-activism while relieving yourself and the environment

By Aimee Lastrella
September 2nd, 2010
Section: The CSUN Footprint

We all do it. I call it my “quiet time,” but however you put it- we all use the bathroom.

I understand some of you don’t have time to change your daily routine or your lifestyle to help the planet. Heck, I admit that I sometimes get too lazy to look for a recycling receptacle to dispose of my plastic, paper and/or glass. But we all have time and make time to use the bathroom.

So why not save the planet while you’re in the bathroom? After all, every little bit helps.

To get clean, water is necessary. So why not save yourself sometime and multi-task while you’re in there?

Your average shower lasts you about 15 minutes. I know it really doesn’t take that long to shower because when I’m in a rush I can be in and out of the shower within five. So as you linger in the shower and relax as the hot water hits your body, you should multi-task and save a little time and water.

I know this happens and you’re ashamed of it, but you can pee in the shower and save a flush. I just would like to encourage you to clean your shower regularly. But if that is too much for you (like it is for me), how about washing your face or brushing your teeth when you’re in there. It’s doable and manageable, so why not?

You poop, I pee- we all do it, but there are other ways of making an effort to stay green and being “regular.”

Another way to be green during your “quiet time” is by using recycled toilet paper or none at all. Now don’t go postal on me, I know, I already sound crazy for the second part, but hear me out.

In earlier times, and in some parts of the world today, people use cloths to wipe- up. It doesn’t sound so weird once you think about it. Don’t forget, babies used to use cloth diapers back in the day. I know, that we all can’t run the wash (better yet, hand wash) all too often or the fact that the smell of dirty used cloths would get to anyone at some point, so I don’t expect you to jump to this option so quickly.

Knowing that I can’t even give up the beloved luxury of toilet paper made me think of other ways to go green. I’ve heard all the arguments of its too thin, too rough and not strong enough. But alas, paper companies have come up with a solution.

There are numerous toilet paper companies that have gone eco-friendly, like Marcal has created a greener toilet paper called Small Steps.

(For more earth friendly options checkout Grist’s review on recycled toilet paper)

Watch Magazine stated the average American flushes about 57 sheets of toilet paper a day. That’s practically flushing a forest in a person’s lifetime.

It is true, recycled toilet paper isn’t as soft when compared to virgin paper products, like regular Charmin, Northern Quiltern and other major brands. But Marcal’s Small Steps 2-ply toilet paper is soft enough for me. Plus, how much of a soft quality is needed in the three-second wipe, when all you do is flush it down the toilet.

Plus, I think when you make the switch you really can’t tell the difference. It’s toilet paper; I think that factor alone is a big enough luxury when I think about life without.

Earth friendly toilet paper’s recycled percentages may vary; Marcal is 60 percent post-consumer recycled content.  By changing a few things during your “quiet time” you can save two butts, yours and the environment’s.

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  • Stan

    So just clean up the river next to your plant, and show you are sincere. Seems like a reasonable solution to me.

  • Ecofacts

    All of us at Marcal welcome valid criticism and open discussion on blogs (and everywhere), but we want you to know that “Jenna” leaves comments like the one here anytime he or she sees something written about us…and leaves them anonymously or from a variety of different names, so there is no way we can get in touch and set the facts straight. The phrases used are always very similar, the kind of pattern that almost shouts, ”spam campaign.” This kind of nameless attack isn’t in the open spirit of blogs, and we think it’s a disservice to readers and to our hard-earned reputation. The simple fact is that we make our products in a manufacturing system designed to minimize our environmental impact.
    We invite the person making these attacks to come pay us a visit; we have nothing to hide! We think our actions speak for themselves; otherwise, why would a group like the NRDC cite our factory in a discussion of companies leading the way environmentally in the New York metro area? (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/egoldstein/green_apples_and_bad_apples_nr.html).
    Marcal didn’t recently “paint itself green.” We’ve been using recycled paper since 1950, long before green was in. As for the lawsuit, it was settled with no admission of wrong doing, enabling the company to emerge from bankruptcy to protect and grow jobs under a new owner and management team that understands that, if you are going to market yourself as green, you better do things right.
    Are we perfect? Of course not, but we are always striving to be better. We invite anyone with questions about our practices to contact us at ecofacts@marcal.com

  • Jenna

    I agree with all of your points, 100%, except one. Marcal has not gone eco-friendly. By a long shot. Do your research. It is a pure and simple marketing ploy. They are the biggest air and water polluter in the state of New Jersey. They were fined almost $1.0 billion dollars by the EPA. And then filed bankruptcy to avoid their clean up responsibilities. Then used bankruptcy to break their union contract. Nice guys, huh? And you can find it all on line.

    They use waste paper to make their products because it is cheaper to do so. And they make more money. Not to be eco- friendly. Not to save trees. To make money. It is a bunch of lies, and a marketing ploy. Anyone who thinks otherwise is blind. Or a paid shill.

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