Bamboo Toilet Paper Is Not Always Greener

Earth.com (02/25/026) Brandao, Raquel

A new study has found that bamboo toilet paper can produce more climate-warming emissions than standard wood-based tissue under current manufacturing practices. This latest study's results challenge the widely held notion that bamboo rolls are automatically greener. The research project at North Carolina State University traced toilet tissue from pulp mills to disposal and counted climate pollution. Following that trail, research scientist Naycari Forfora traced most pollution to mill fuel and electricity. Forfora put that gap close to 500 pounds of climate-warming pollution per ton between wood tissue and bamboo blends. In practice, the researcher added, the label on the wrapper mattered less than where factories drew power and how they dried paper. As it turns out, much of bamboo's footprint came from energy burned to cook fibers and dry sheets into soft tissue. Softness often comes from extra drying. Air drying, a method that dries without heavy contact, used far more electricity than common drum drying. In one measured U.S. setting, that premium-style drying raised climate emissions nearly 39 percent versus lower-energy tissue machines.

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