Toilet paper – we all use it every day here in Australia, and every year thousands of trees are cut down and an enormous amount of water is used to make each roll!

At Booyong when purchasing toilet paper, we have decided to buy some made from recycled materials. We are supporting “Who gives a crap” who are recognised as #1 with Shop ethical, and rated by Choice as the softest recycled toilet paper.

Surprisingly only five percent of the toilet paper we use in Australia is recycled. We had hoped to use Australian made recycled paper at Booyong, but they only had some recyclable content in them, and lets be honest – until recently much of our waste went to China anyway. Whilst Who Gives a Crap is Australian made this company’s paper products are made in China from either 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper, bamboo and/or sugarcane. Recycled toilet paper is made from 100 percent consumer waste unlike regular toilet paper which often uses the virgin fibre of trees. This means we are saving trees being cut down so they can remain in the ground, keep our air clean, protect the soil form erosion and provide habitat for our native animals. The paper is also packaged in recyclable paper and not plastic, thereby further contributing to sustainability. We will certainly keep an eye on the market and see if any Australian made options appear.

In accordance with a similar theme, we have also started recycling our toilet paper rolls to make seedling pots. I have to admit, I was getting very sick of having to ask the kids to pop the empty rolls in the recycling bin. Now when I see one on the bench and I know that each one will be the home to an emerging seedling and it makes me happy instead of mad (well most of the time).

All you need is a tray and some scissors to turn them into seedling pots:
• Make four cuts just over one inch around one end of the roll, ensuring they are opposite each other.
• Fold the cut sections in toward the centre of the roll one over the other as shown in the picture. This will create the bottom of your pot.
• Flip them over and fill with seed raising mix.

The great thing is they can be planted directly into the ground as the cardboard will biodegrade, so they are great for direct sowing plants like beetroot and spinach.
I had some concern regarding the use of toilet paper rolls and disease, so I did some research and found that, according to the famous Dr Karl, toilets are actually much more safe than many other place because we clean them more often and contamination is extremely rare.

So please while you’re staying at Booyong pop your empty toilet rolls in the cardboard box at the back door and contribute to saving the environment. You may even consider doing something similar at home.