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Introduction
The short answer to the question of how bamboo toilet paper is made: just like any other toilet paper, but with a different source material! However, there are some differences between the production of normal toilet paper and bamboo toilet paper, including that bamboo toilet paper production uses 60% less water, and produces 30% less carbon emissions.
Lets dive into the different stages of producing bamboo toilet paper below.
- Harvesting the bamboo
Bamboo is fast growing and prevalent in many parts of Asia, including China and India. This makes harvesting bamboo more straightforward than normal trees, as once cut, bamboos do not need replanting, require very little water to grow and require few fertilisers (if any!).
Bamboo culms are typically cut near the bottom, as this allows the majority of the culm to be used whilst ensuring it can regrow for future harvests. The cut bamboo culms are then collected, loaded on to large vehicles and transported to nearby factories where the manufacturing process can start.
- Extracting the fibres from the culms
As with the production process for normal toilet paper, the fibres (the bit we need to make toilet paper) are separated from the bits we don’t need (lignin) in a process known as pulping. The resultant “pulp” is then ready to be transformed into bamboo toilet paper.
- Turning the bamboo pulp into large “mother rolls”
Once the pulping process is complete, the resultant pulp is washed, soaked and pressed into toilet paper. Once the paper dries, it is rolled into large “mother rolls”. These are giant rolls of toilet paper which the manufacturer can cut into different individual sizes and dimensions as needed by customers.
- Mother rolls into toilet rolls
The Mother rolls are cut into smaller rolls depending on the dimensions and sizes requested by customers. These individually cut rolls are then packaged into paper or boxes before being shipped to the customers’ destination
- Main differences between how bamboo toilet paper and normal toilet paper are made
- For normal toilet paper, cut down trees need to be replanted, and these replanted trees will take many years to regrow. Bamboo plants do not need to be replanted, and will be ready for the next harvest in under one year.
- Bamboo’s inherent qualities limit the number of chemicals needed in the “pulping process” as compared with wood from trees making the production process safer and better for the environment
- Bamboo toilet paper production uses 60% less water than the production of normal toilet paper
- Normal toilet paper is typically wrapped in plastic packaging, for sale in supermarkets and retail stores. Bamboo toilet paper manufacturers are often more eco-conscious, and driven by their customers, typically package bamboo toilet paper in paper packaging or stack them in cardboard boxes.