Razing forests to produce homes or violins or books is one thing; it's quite another for single-use products. According to an article in the current issue of Worldwatch Magazine, the average person from our part of the world uses about 23 kilograms of TP a year. The world average is 3.8 kgs. Paper use rates in regions that have traditionally used water rather than TP to clean up are rising rapidly. Toilet paper is taking over the world and ever more trees are being pulped to keep up with the demand.

Increased use of TP worldwide is actually a sign improved sanitation is taking hold everywhere. That's a good thing as it reduces rates of illness from diseases related to fecal contact. It is estimated that 42,000 people die every week from diseases linked to inadequate sanitation. About 1.5 million children die from diarrhea each year before the age of five, and illness triggered by poor sanitation contributes to the loss of at least 500 million school days annually.

There is an ecological price to pay, however, for improved sanitation. In 2005, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported that 13 million hectares of global forests are lost annually, including six million hectares of what are described as primary forests -- some of the most biologically diverse ecological systems in the world. One estimate is that producing TP alone accounts for 15 per cent of deforestation.

The case for recycling paper to produce toilet tissue is compelling on several grounds, according to Worldwatch. Various estimates place the quantity of waste paper tossed into dumps and landfills at 35 to 40 per cent of total mass. Not recycling this paper is a kind of madness: One tonne of recycled paper saves almost two tonnes of lumber and 100,000 litres of water, uses 64 per cent less energy and 50 per cent less water to produce, creates 74 per cent less air pollution, saves 17 trees and creates five times more jobs than one tonne of paper products from virgin wood pulp.

It is also possible to produce virgin pulp toilet paper without harvesting trees. The three largest toilet paper producers in Japan, for example, use recycled wood pulp and "washi" as a paper additive. Washi is made from a variety of sources, including rice, hemp, bamboo and wheat. Fast-growing fibre crops, such as hemp, and abundant agricultural and industrial byproducts ranging from wheat straw to garment scraps, sunflower stalks and rags are other sources of tree-free pulp.

Rather than the world adopting toilet paper, another option might be to explore the possibilities offered by promoting personal washing, a practice common in Asia.

I have noticed that water containers are showing up in bathrooms in several Asian restaurants in town. People from the Middle East and South Asia use these containers to wash up after using the toilet. Another option is to add a tap and hose beside the toilet.

Water-based personal cleansing can be quite elaborate. Japan's high tech and high-end Washlet incorporates a spray-blow-drying system that uses about one-tenth of a litre of water per use. On the other end of the scale, check out the cheap personal sanitation device called the Tjebbi at www.youtube.com/user/TjebokHealthCare. This is a simple hand pump sprayer that can keep you clean without TP or much water.

While it is unlikely that TP will be replaced any time soon, Worldwatch says the environmental impacts inherent in harvesting wood, either from sustainably managed forests or plantations, for a single-use personal item must continue to be explored and documented. "Education of consumers, improvements in quality, pricing, and marketing of recycled products and willingness to consider toilet paper alternatives such as water for cleansing must be pursued to meet the needs of a growing global population."