Bamboo Toilet Paper - What!?

[AlanT]

My wife brought home a large package of Caboo brand "bamboo based" toilet paper.

It is extremely thin, package says it dissolves very quickly.

My question is, is this suitable for a Vacuflush head?

Hoping that the headmistress is around and able to comment on this.

Thanks

~Alan

[peghall]

First I've heard of this, but I'm not surprised that someone with an advanced case of environmental protection-itis would decide that, because bamboo is a renewable material, bamboo toilet paper would save trees...not realizing that paper is made from pulpwood trees that are farmed "crops" and therefore just as renewable as bamboo. Paper also use scraps-small branches, twigs etc too small to become lumber--which means they're recycled instead of burned. So bamboo toilet paper doesn't save a single tree. But I'd bet it does cost a LOT more than paper TP--much of which is made from recycled paper!

Btw...I googled Caboo tp and came up with their website: https://cabooproducts.com/


Now to answer your question....

Any toilet paper that can pass this test can safely be flushed through any marine toilet:

Tear off a couple of sheets and put 'em in a mason jar or glass of water. Come back in an hour and shake the jar or stir the glass. If the water is milky and all you see is "snow" that TP is can safely be flushed through any marine toilet. But if the sheets are still intact or even mostly intact, try another brand.

--Peggie

[JPA Cate]

Thanks, Peggy,

That's really interesting. Nice to know there's an easy test, too.

Ann

[sailorboy1]

The bamboo visions in my mind ......

[Flatswing]

Originally Posted by peghall

First I've heard of this, but I'm not surprised that someone with an advanced case of environmental protection-itis would decide that, because bamboo is a renewable material, bamboo toilet paper would save trees...not realizing that paper is made from pulpwood trees that are farmed "crops" and therefore just as renewable as bamboo. Paper also use scraps-small branches, twigs etc too small to become lumber--which means they're recycled instead of burned. So bamboo toilet paper doesn't save a single tree. But I'd bet it does cost a LOT more than paper TP--much of which is made from recycled paper!

Btw...I googled Caboo tp and came up with their website: https://cabooproducts.com/


Now to answer your question....

Any toilet paper that can pass this test can safely be flushed through any marine toilet:

Tear off a couple of sheets and put 'em in a mason jar or glass of water. Come back in an hour and shake the jar or stir the glass. If the water is milky and all you see is "snow" that TP is can safely be flushed through any marine toilet. But if the sheets are still intact or even mostly intact, try another brand.

--Peggie

I found Surprisingly that many single ply tp have plasticizers in them to maintain their integrity in use but they fail Peggy’s test miserably. Some 2 ply from recycled materials however form the snow globe promptly. You may need to retest from time to time as house brand suppliers change. Presently I use Simple Truth 100% recycled TP on the boat & at home. Who knew?

[AlanT]

Originally Posted by peghall

First I've heard of this, but I'm not surprised that someone with an advanced case of environmental protection-itis would decide that, because bamboo is a renewable material, bamboo toilet paper would save trees...not realizing that paper is made from pulpwood trees that are farmed "crops" and therefore just as renewable as bamboo. Paper also use scraps-small branches, twigs etc too small to become lumber--which means they're recycled instead of burned. So bamboo toilet paper doesn't save a single tree. But I'd bet it does cost a LOT more than paper TP--much of which is made from recycled paper!

Btw...I googled Caboo tp and came up with their website: https://cabooproducts.com/


Now to answer your question....

Any toilet paper that can pass this test can safely be flushed through any marine toilet:

Tear off a couple of sheets and put 'em in a mason jar or glass of water. Come back in an hour and shake the jar or stir the glass. If the water is milky and all you see is "snow" that TP is can safely be flushed through any marine toilet. But if the sheets are still intact or even mostly intact, try another brand.

--Peggie

Thanks Peggie,

Needs must. We bought it because it was the only type still in stock (apparently we are in another wave of TP shortage in the PNW). That said it was price competitive, however it is also distressingly thin single ply. Its headed to the boat because we cant imagine using it in the house

~Alan

[tarian]

Bamboo grows faster takes up less per metre for planting purposes , so for your tree to reach 25 year maturity to pulp wonder how many crops of bamboo one gets
Much more environmentally friendly
Lumber plantations are heavy industry for you to wipe ones arse , not only the co2 produced in getting the tree to the area your making paper but the process of making paper is not exactly healthy
Bamboo is by far less co2 produced to weight on timber.
Funny how so much bamboo products are coming out geared to the more environmentally conscious.
Looks like your wife knows best

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by peghall

First I've heard of this, but I'm not surprised that someone with an advanced case of environmental protection-itis would decide that, because bamboo is a renewable material, bamboo toilet paper would save trees...not realizing that paper is made from pulpwood trees that are farmed "crops" and therefore just as renewable as bamboo. Paper also use scraps-small branches, twigs etc too small to become lumber--which means they're recycled instead of burned. So bamboo toilet paper doesn't save a single tree. But I'd bet it does cost a LOT more than paper TP--much of which is made from recycled paper!

Btw...I googled Caboo tp and came up with their website: https://cabooproducts.com/


Now to answer your question....

Any toilet paper that can pass this test can safely be flushed through any marine toilet:

Tear off a couple of sheets and put 'em in a mason jar or glass of water. Come back in an hour and shake the jar or stir the glass. If the water is milky and all you see is "snow" that TP is can safely be flushed through any marine toilet. But if the sheets are still intact or even mostly intact, try another brand.

--Peggie

Peg, you forgot the pandas using their source of food.

[lkknapp]

I am also in the PNW - when the initial lockdown TP rush happened I opted out by signing up for a subscription to Cloudpaper (https://cloudpaper.co/products/bamboo-toilet-paper) The other nice thing about this paper is there is no plastic at all in any of the packaging.

I have been quite happy with it for the house and had not worried about the boat... (I just installed a composting toilet and am in the midst of a refit so the question had not come up.)

Out of interest I just did the mason jar shake test. A close look at the paper shows 3 layers on the sheet. I didn't want to wait an hour so after about 15 minutes went back to shake the jar. All I got was milky snow....

[Mike OReilly]

Seems like a reasonable idea to me. Not all pulp is made from tree farms, some comes from virgin wilderness cuts. Pulp can be any source.

The advantage of fast-growing bamboo would be you could reduce your land footprint significantly and still get the same fibre production. This would leave more areas to wilderness. It would also improve the CO2 balance.

And not all TP is made from recycled paper. Besides, recycling paper has a huge environmental impact as well. It's disputable whether it's even a good idea.

Ahh... tarian's analysis is sound .

You know ... what would be a good environmental step would be to stop using bleached TP. Bleaching to make it all white is a big part of the negative environmental impact in producing pulp. If people didn't demand lily-white paper to wipe their arse, we'd all be better off.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by peghall

... bamboo toilet paper would save trees...not realizing that paper is made from pulpwood trees that are farmed "crops" and therefore just as renewable as bamboo. Paper also use scraps-small branches, twigs etc too small to become lumber--which means they're recycled instead of burned. So bamboo toilet paper doesn't save a single tree. But I'd bet it does cost a LOT more than paper TP--much of which is made from recycled paper!
...
--Peggie

I'm not sure what aspect of the market is being referred to above, nor can I find references to substantiate these statements. Add in energy, chemicals, water use and processing and the story gets even worse, particularly given that for most of us toilet paper is a single use disposable. It would be reassuring to hear some scientifically substantiated good news about toilet paper production.

But here is a link to a comparison of bamboo to trees for toilet tissue use. NO it's not a peer reviewed scientific paper but it is certainly well researched and includes citations.

A simple google search using 'is toilet paper made from sustainable farmed forest' returns considerable references that suggest quite the opposite, certainly in the North American market.

One point of course, what exactly does 'farmed crops' mean. Under some people's definition, particularly the paper makers definition this includes mining long standing hardwoods from virgin forest, and then once cleared replanting with commercial timber species. This is almost always with a single tree species.

In my part of the world that means clear felling virgin hardwood forest with a wide variety of obviously native tree species that have taken hundreds of years to mature, and then replanted with either softwood Radiata pine or Douglas fir that mature in 20-30 years. Both exotic varieties, and completely foreign to all our native species of flying, walking and creeping critters. Walking through a pine forest is a silent experience as there are no sounds from birds or insects.

Adding to the devastation is that pine needles have tannins and so the floor of a such pine forests are completely devoid of life. There are only a couple of varieties of fern that can eek out an existence under pine trees here in NZ. And once that pine plantation is itself cleared the tannins have so polluted the soil that no other species will grow for at least 10 years. Oh and let's not even consider the issues caused by wilding pines they grow down wind for over 50 km.

Here's an analysis of a single popular brand; Charmin's sustainability claims.

And the claims made by the offending bamboo products manufacturer actually make a reasonably compelling story as to the efficacy and sustainability of their products. Here's the link again.

[billgewater]

Ah! What we all need is a functional marine bidet with a built in dryer.

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by billgewater

Ah! What we all need is a functional marine bidet with a built in dryer.

I doubt anyone would be ok using sea water though.

[bailsout]

For less than 15 bucks you can buy a portable squeeze bottle bidet and use fresh water- less than a quart. I use it at home and on the boat, you can even warm up the water if you prefer not having a morning woohoo.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by bailsout

For less than 15 bucks you can buy a portable squeeze bottle bidet and use fresh water- less than a quart. I use it at home and on the boat, you can even warm up the water if you prefer not having a morning woohoo.

Thanks for sharing that level of personal detail BailOut.
Just what I needed to picture in my mind whilst I munched on my corn flakes.