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Toilet paper use flags inequities

A. Srivathsan

Indians consume toilet paper worth $7.7 million each year, according to an assessment made by the World Watch Institute, which has concluded that toilet paper use reveals the inequities in access to sanitation globally.

It has sought to juxtapose the consumption in India with that elsewhere in the world to drive home the inadequacies that developing countries face in terms of sanitation requirements. In the United States, for example, toilet paper worth $5.7 billion is consumed annually.

These figures from 2005 are based on the Euromonitor International Studies and published in the World Watch Magazine. The figures come as a caution when the world is debating issues of climate change and carbon footprint sizes.

According to World Watch, the per capita annual consumption of toilet tissue in different parts of the world raises concerns. In North America the per capita consumption is 23 kg while in Western Europe it is 13.8 kg. Asia consumes about 1.8 kg and Africa the least, 0.4 kg.

When these figures are juxtaposed with the numbers of people who do not have access to proper toilets, the inequities in terms of services and basic amenities are evident, according to World Watch. The U. S. and Canada enjoy 100 per cent access to sanitary toilets. In India 67 per cent of the people do not have access to them. Africa is even more pathetic. In Ethiopia about 87 per cent and in Chad about 91 per cent do not have access to toilets.

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