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Health & Fitness

We've been TP'd! What are we to reuse?

The primary use for toilet paper is hygiene in residential and public bathroom settings.  According to the Toilet Paper Encyclopedia, Early Americans used rags, leaves, newsprint, corncobs, and catalogs for potty purposes.  The Sears catalogue was renowned in this ‘back’ground, and even printed spinoff catalogues like the “Rears and Sorebutt.”  The hole in the Farmer’s Almanac allowed it to be hung so the pages could be torn out easily for use.  Hawaiians used coconut shells, and Eskimos used snow and Tundra moss.  Interestingly, the first paper produced for bathroom use dates back to the 14th Century when Chinese emperors ordered it in 2x3 foot sheets.

Then at some point in time a genius came up with the idea to get a group of other geniuses together to waste the soft tissue paper decorating the trees and other areas of homes, unbeknownst to the people living in the homes, on the fly, in the dark of the night.  This well-known, common sacrifice of perfectly good paper often takes place around school events, such as homecoming, junior/senior wars, football games, and on the eve of Halloween (a/k/a mischief night).

So what can be done with the decorative material after the deed is completed and the cleanup begins?  After all, toilet paper is not cheap.  Twelve double rolls can cost in the ballpark of $7.  Manufacturing toilet paper also requires money, the use of valuable resources, and the investment of time.

Well, if you’re the frugal kind, you could take the time to collect the unused material and reuse it.  Yes, we know of someone who collected discarded rolls left at the scene for reuse.  Why not if it’s not used?  Don’t knock it till you try it.

Another possible reuse is bedding for small animals, suggests Gloria Hardegree, Executive Director of the Georgia Recycling Coalition.  Shredded paper tissue, toilet paper or paper towels (unscented) are a safe choice for bedding material for small rodent-type animals.  The toilet paper will also be readily available and free of charge if you have it hanging from your trees and home by the truckload.

Composting the paper is another idea shared by Tammy Wright, Manager of Environmental Programs for Forsyth County.  A single home can divert approximately 600 pounds of waste from the landfill every year by composting, according to the Mother Nature Network.  Things like toilet paper, drier lint, and hair (human and pet), to name a few, are common items that people usually don’t think about adding to their compost piles.  If you’re using your compost pile for fertilizing edibles, make sure to only compost items that will not contaminant them for human consumption.

We have compost red wiggler worms, but we wouldn’t reuse the toilet paper for their bedding.  Worms prefer paper with a coarser texture, and the toilet paper may prove to be too absorbent, adding excessive moisture to the bin’s environment.  However, shredded cardboard rolls make splendid bedding for our wiggly friends.

Kat Stratton, Director of Cedar Hill Enrichment Center, offers yet another creative reuse option.  “Offer it for free to a bridal shower for a bridal shower game where they make dresses out of toilet paper.”  Then after each “bride” has been rolled up, you could place each of them in a bathroom as a decorative dispenser and see who gets wiped up first.  Sorry bad potty humor on our part.

One thing the recycling experts all agree upon is that toilet paper CANNOT be recycled.  A material recovery facility (MRF) will consider it a contaminant (even if unused).  Toilet paper is often made out of recycled material; however, it’s at the end of its life by the time it gets to the toilet usage stage.

“Unfortunately, there are liquids in the single stream so these items turn to mush,” says Michelle Wiseman, Recycling Specialist for SP Recycling Southeast.  “For this reason, it’s important not to include toilet paper or hand towels with curbside recycling.”

Now you know ways to reuse toilet paper if your home and trees are unlucky enough to get TP’d by a group of mischievous geniuses just trying to have a bit of harmless fun (in most cases).  It’s important that we all try to avoid landfilling materials that can be reused for other purposes.  By doing so, we save money, time, and valuable resources associated with their disposal.

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From the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department:  The act of rolling a yard would be considered criminal trespass if the homeowner wanted to prosecute. The criminal trespass charge would come from any damage the homeowner would have on his property. More importantly than this, walking around someone’s yard in the dark could lead a homeowner into thinking the kid(s) are breaking into his home and the consequences of that act could be a physical altercation between the two.

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