Americans told to wipe fixation on toilet paper from virgin forests

The US devotion to multi-ply toilet paper is worse for the planet than gas guzzling cars, environmentalists claim.

Most of the paper used by Americans is produced from virgin forests, while other areas of the planet are more open to using recycled paper.

Greenpeace has launched a guide about the ecological impact of the use of toilet paper. Lindsey Allen, a forestry expert with the environmental campaign group, said: "We have this myth in the US that recycled is just so low quality, it's like cardboard."

More than 98 per cent of the toilet paper sold in the US is from virgin forests, with the figure just under 60 per cent in Europe.

Americans consume more of the paper than Europeans - up to three times as much. They are said to use 100 times more paper per head of population than people in China.

Allen Hershkowitz, a scientist at the Natural Resources Defence Council, said: "Future generations are going to look at the way we make toilet paper as one of the greatest excesses of our age. Making toilet paper from virgin wood is a lot worse than driving [petrol-thirsty cars] in terms of global warming pollution." American producers of the products maintain that there is ample choice for consumers. Recycled toilet paper - which involves less use of chemicals when manufactured
- is available widely in the US.

- AGENCIES