News Reporter: Climate Coach: The bidet is the way

Tuesday, 4 April 2023

Climate Coach: The bidet is the way

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Down-to-earth advice for life on our changing planet.

Hunter French for The Washington Post

By Michael J. Coren

Every year, we're flushing millions of trees from Canada's boreal forests down the toilet. Is Charmin Ultra Soft Cushiony Touch worth it? Let's consider the bidet.

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"This is not no regular toilet bowl," gushes DJ Khaled on Instagram, fawning over a new toilet that rapper Drake sent to his home. "This is the most amazing toilet bowl I ever seen in my life."

The Neorest NX2 toilet is a $21,181 porcelain throne. In addition to a remote control and heated seat, it features "water that splashes up" after you're done, as DJ Khaled says enthusiastically.

In other words, it's a very pricey bidet. Once viewed as an overseas oddity, the bathroom fixture has recently exploded in popularity in the United States.

That's great news for the world's northern forests, which supply much of the virgin pulp to make toilet paper. Were the United States to switch to bidets, millions of trees would likely remain standing every year.

I bought one in 2019 and never looked back. But can bidets persuade Americans to set aside their rolls of Charmin Ultra Soft Cushiony Touch?

This week, I wrote about why you should take the plunge:

Every year, Americans flush the equivalent of millions of trees down the toilet. Much of it comes from trees logged in Canada's species-rich boreal forests, which store about the same amount of carbon as three decades' worth of fossil fuel emissions.

Bidets require about one-eighth of a gallon of water per use. That's a fraction of what's required to make the amount of toilet paper needed for the same purpose.

A typical American consumes about 24 rolls of TP per year on average — some estimates put it as high as 85 rolls. At today's prices, that's at least $30 annually for toilet paper, the same price as the cheapest bidets.

And, in my experience, bidets just work better. You can never get as clean with toilet paper, or even wet wipes, as just rinsing with water.

Read this week's Climate Coach column to learn more.

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