We have been taught to believe that using leaves as toilet paper is crazy...
Yet, chopping down trees, guzzling fossil fuels, consuming vast quantities of water and then bleaching the paper we create from trees is normal, acceptable and even sophisticated. All the while using plants as toilet paper as well, but separated from reality by an industry… Disconnected from the source.
So sure, I'm crazy. And I will always choose to be the "crazy" one in this disconnected society.
Brut visited me on my compost toilet in Gainesville, Florida to share this message.
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———— Robin Greenfield is an activist and humanitarian dedicated to leading the way to a more sustainable and just world. He embarks on extreme projects to bring attention to important global issues and inspire positive change. His work has been covered by media worldwide including National Geographic and he’s been named “The Robin Hood of modern times” by France 2 TV.
Robin's life is an embodiment of Gandhi’s philosophy, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Robin donates 100% of his media earnings to grassroots nonprofits. He has committed to living simply and responsibly for life.
This YouTube channel is a source to educate, inspire and help others to live more regenerative, equitable and just lives. Videos frequently cover sustainable living, simple living, growing your own food, gardening, minimalism, off the grid living, zero waste, living in a tiny house, permaculture, food sovereignty, community resilience and self-sufficiency. http://www.robingreenfield.org/
I'm not going to wipe my butt with my money anymore.
So yeah, I look crazy, but the reality of this is wiping your butt with leaves isn't
crazy.
That compared to pooping in clean water.
Environmental activist Robin Greenfield is sitting on a compost toilet in cities around
Florida to demonstrate how people can stop spending money on toilet paper and cutting
down waste by growing their own.
For years he has been using the leaves of blue spur flowers, also known as the toilet
paper plant, as a toilet paper alternative.
So what I love about this toilet paper plant is that the leaves come off about the same
size as a piece of toilet paper.
Secondly, they are soft as can be.
So I mean, just soft as can be, yet durable.
Watch.
Like, they can really take a wiping, so your fingers will not break through.
Well, you use your homegrown toilet paper to wipe your butt, as you would do with toilet
paper.
After you're done, you drop it into the bucket.
In there is your poop and your toilet paper.
And you take that sawdust, just like in a kitty litter box, you cover your poop with
that sawdust.
That takes away smells.
If you don't have a compost toilet, you can still grow your own toilet paper.
And what you can do is have a little bin next to your flush toilet, where you put the used
pieces into the bin, and then you could take that out to your yard, and you could just
dig a hole and bury it.
Or you could compost just the leaves.
So even if you have a flush toilet, you can use this.
The U.S. leads the world in toilet paper consumption.
The process of harvesting, making, packaging, and shipping toilet paper involves significant
energy use, as well as reliance on fossil fuels for transportation.
He says that utilizing the toilet paper plant not only cuts down on waste, but can also
cut back on environmental issues like red tide, a type of algae that produces toxins
that can kill fish and is harmful to humans.
I flipped open to the front of the local newspaper, and it said, headlines, three million gallons
of raw sewage spilled into the river.
Underneath that, it said, fourth largest spill in two years.
So people believe that our flush systems work.
Yeah, they work at making a problem, a big problem for society.
Yeah, I look crazy, but the reality of this is, wiping your butt with leaves isn't crazy.
That compared to pooping in clean water, polluting all that water, and then ending up dumping
it in our oceans, and then making ourselves sick by swimming in our own pooped water.
And here in Florida, it contributes to red tide.
And this is my way of saying, no, it actually is a very real issue, and this is one way
of being a part of the solution.
Robin estimates that within a year, two cuttings of the toilet paper plant can grow into enough
toilet paper for a family of five.
The plant is low-maintenance and grows in many warm regions in the U.S., including Florida,
but can also be grown in pots indoors.
I'm a big advocate of water, but this is my full closed-loop cycle where I'm able to deal
with all of what's called waste on site, where there is no such thing as waste, and it all
goes back into the soil, creates nutrients that then I can use to grow food with, like
fruit trees.
So that's why I'm here with this plant, not just for you to wipe your butt with it, but
to actually use it as a tool to break free from capitalism and consumerism.
