Alternatives to tissue paper products and 'Tissue Issue' Social Movement

Tissue paper and paper towels are one of the type of trash that I generated the most during my 2 weeks of trash collection. On average, the earth produces 254 million tons of trash that results from discarded paper towels every year. Furthermore, 51, 000 trees are cut down and used every day to meet the number of paper towels that are needed. This shows that paper towels contribute to a significant amount of waste that the world produce and hence, we should make an effort to reduce the production of this waste as the manufacturing of paper towels requires a lot of timber that are cut down from wildlife habitats which causes animals to lose their homes. The production of paper towels and tissue paper contribute to air and water pollution during the manufacturing and transportation process, making it very harmful towards the environment. Lastly, when paper towels and tissue paper are thrown away after use, they take up a lot of landfill space. Hence I have researched about a few alternatives that I can implement in my life to reduce the production of tissue paper waste (The Paperless Project, n.d.)

The first alternatives that I will use will be reusable towels. Paper towels and tissue paper are non-recyclable and hence, it is very wasteful to use them as a single paper towel will be discarded immediately after use which results in the waste of resources that are poured into manufacturing the tissue paper. In comparison, reusable towels can be used at homes as a substitute for drying hands and washing up over and over again. Hence, no waste is produced making it environmentally friendly (trash is for tossers, 2013).

The second alternative to tissue paper products will be handkerchiefs. Tissue paper often come in small packets which makes it very easy to carry around to use and to dispose of afterwards. Thus, the handkerchief will be a good replacement as it is reusable, easy to carry around and it can be used for many purposes such as wiping off sweat or cleaning your mouth. Some people might find it unhygienic to use the handkerchief over and over again for repeated use. The solution to this will be to fold the handkerchief nicely and use the different sides. I do carry a handkerchief around with me sometimes but I am more used to using tissue paper. Hence I will make an effort to carry a handkerchief around with me more often and use it to reduce the amount of tissue paper waste I produce (Czinski, 2009).

It might be difficult to stop using tissue paper products immediately so a recommendation I have will be to use 100% recycled tissue paper products instead of normal tissue paper products if you are uncomfortable switching over to other alternatives immediately. The recycle tissue paper not only provides a second use for recycle paper materials but also maximize the life of paper fiber as paper fibers in the tissue paper can only be recycled a few times. Hence 100% recycled tissue paper products will also be a good alternative to normal tissue paper product as it is more environmentally-friendly (Czinski, 2009).

A social movement that I would like to start will be the ‘Tissue Issue’ Social Movement. In this social movement, I will set up a website that will explain the harmful effects of tissue paper products on the environment and the possible alternatives that someone can easily adopt into his or her life. I will also add in a pledge section where people who visit my website can pledge to reduce their waste produced from tissue paper so that I can evaluate the effectiveness of my social movement by observing the number of people who pledge to reduce their tissue paper waste. Furthermore, I would also talk to my friends and family members about my social movement through the word-of-mouth so that they can understand the harmful effects of tissue paper and adopt more environmentally-friendly alternatives and spread the social movement to others. 

(Handkerchiefs alternatives I will use from now on)

References

Czinski, R. (2009). Soft Tissue Paper is Hard on the Environment. Simple Ecology. Retrieved

from http://www.simpleecology.com/eco/soft-tissue-paper

The Paperless Project. (n.d.). How to Reduce Your Paper Towel Use. Retrieved from

http://www.thepaperlessproject.com/how-to-reduce-your-paper-towel-use/

trash is for tossers. (2013). Zero Waste Alternatives: The Ultimate List. Retrieved from

http://www.trashisfortossers.com/2013/08/zero-waste-alternatives-ultimate-list.html