Toilet Paper Facts | Figures & Usage | Duravit

Toilet Paper Facts

How sustainable is Germany?

Sustainability is a much-discussed issue nowadays. However, there’s one small area - the toilet - which often doesn’t get much of a mention. This is because our behavior on the toilet, and especially our use of toilet paper, is far from sustainable. In this respect, Germany is in front all the European countries: significantly more toilet paper is used here than in France or Italy. This isn’t due to a different approach to hygiene, though, but because bidets are much more widely used in these countries. So could washing with water be a sustainable way to protect the climate? And how high is the consumption of toilet paper in Germany exactly?

Toilet paper consumption in minutes

About 12 kg per person per year - that’s how much toilet paper is used by Germans. A figure that sounds like a lot, but isn’t so easy to visualize. How many sheets is that per minute, for example? How high is the resulting paper consumption and how can it be represented visually? A visual representation can be found in our Counter.

In 000 Min.

Toilet paper

Rolls

Paper

Length

Area

Football pitches

Once you experience SensoWash®, you’ll never want to do without it

Shower toilets are an alternative to using toilet paper. More practical than a bidet, they combine both toilet and cleansing functions. Once you try the Duravit SensoWash range, you’ll never want anything else. Simple and comfortable to use, shower toilets offer many benefits:

cleaning with water is more hygienic than using toilet paper
resource savings due to less toilet paper manufactured
added comfort with functions such as warm air dryers and seat heating

If everyone in Germany switched over: resources saved by shower toilets

In 000 Min.

Cost

in euros

Water consumption

in liters

CO² emissions

in kg

Trees felled

Number

Sources

German Federal Office of Statistics, as of 12/31/2021, retrieved on 08/26/2022 https://www-genesis.destatis.de/genesis/online?operation=previous&levelindex=1&step=1&titel=Ergebnis&levelid=1661503529927&acceptscookies=false#abreadcrumb

ÖKO-TEST, as of: 12/10/2022, retrieved on 08/26/2022: https://www.oekotest.de/bauen-wohnen/Toilettenpapier-Test-Mit-diesen-Rollen-sparen-Sie-taeglich-Holz-CO2_11367_1.html

General Anzeiger, as of 10/01/2018, retrieved on 08/26/2022: https://ga.de/news/panorama/klopapier-verbrauch-in-deutschland-besonders-hoch_aid-43909857#:~:text=Ausgehend%20von%20einem%20Gewicht%20von,die%20jeder%20im%20Jahr%20verbraucht.

Studyflix, retrieved on 08/26/2022: https://studyflix.de/erdkunde/wie-gros-ist-die-erde-3776

ORF, as of 01/25/2018, retrieved on 08/26.2022: https://help.orf.at/v3/stories/2891410/

DFB (German Football Association), retrieved on 08/26/2022: https://www.dfb.de/news/detail/real-trick-wie-gross-darf-ein-spielfeld-sein-143884/#:~:text=Standardgr%C3%B6%C3%9Fe%3A%20105%20mal%2068%20Meter

STATISTA, as of 2015, retrieved on 08/26/2022: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/466152/umfrage/durchschnittlicher-preis-fuer-toilettenpapier-in-ausgewaehlten-europaeischen-laendern/

Bluhm Systeme, as of 08/22/2018, retrieved on 08/26/2022: https://www.bluhmsysteme.com/blog/toilettenpapier-aus-gras/#:~:text=Produktion%20Toilettenpapier%20aus%20Gras%3A,Liter%20bei%20dem%20Recycle%2DVerfahren)

WorldAtlas estimate, retrieved on 08/26/2022: https://www.worldmap-knowledge.com/articles/how-many-trees-does-it-take-to-make-1-roll-of-toilet-paper.html

Handelsblatt.com in reference to the pilot project “Product Carbon Footprint” (PCF) of the Freiburger Öko-Institut (Institute for Applied Technology), the PIK (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research), and the WWF conservation organization, as of 2009, retrieved on 12/12/2022: https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/handel-konsumgueter/verbrauchsgueter-die-co2-bilanz-des-klopapiers/3324796.html#:~:text=Forscher%20ermitteln%20den%20Kohlendioxid%2D%22Fu%C3%9Fabdruck,Rollen%20Klopapier%20entlang%20der%20Wertsch%C3%B6pfungskette.