Last week, I heard a radio advertisement that posed this question: What’s one thing you can do to help the Earth?
The first thing that I thought of was toilet paper tubes.
Infographic courtesy of Care to Recycle
That morning I had put a new roll of toilet paper on the holder after throwing the empty, paper-made and perfectly recyclable tube in the trash. I know what you’re thinking. Why did it take me so long to equate toilet paper tubes to any other paper product that I routinely recycle? PAPER is in the name!
As guilty as I felt, I’m not the only human who tossed a paper product in the trash that day. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that 18.27 million tons of paper and paperboard were dumped in landfills in 2015 – and that’s just in the United States.
Later that day, I turned to the Internet and searched “toilet paper tube recycling”. I found a post by Care to Recycle that depicts how toilet paper tubes are the textbook example of recycling. Check out the infographic in this post. To summarize, when you recycle a toilet paper tube, you help produce a new toilet paper tube. ZERO waste generated!
Today, I pledge to recycle toilet paper tubes. I will put a recycling bin in my bathrooms so it’s just as easy to recycle the paper and plastic products that I use in the bathrooms as it is to throw those products in the garbage.
In honor of Earth Day, I encourage you to ask yourself the same question. What’s one thing you can do to help our planet?
For ideas, visit 50waystohelp.com.
I’m confused. I searched if TP tubes are recyclable and the answer came up no. But then read this article. So they are recyclable only if put in with cardboard and not paper products?
Hi Christine. They are recyclable, but the toilet paper on the roll is not. Recycling capabilities are local, so it’s best to check with your town/city to determine if and how to recycle them.