Ditch the Wet Wipes and Buy a Bidet

April saw environmental concerns be brought to life as Extinction Rebellion activists gathered in the City of London to protest against the use of single use plastic and demand a change in mindset of those in positions of authority.

These concerns have been reinforced in the BBC programme ‘War On Plastic.’ The documentary has the goal of raising awareness of the damage we are doing to the environment by using single use plastics, some of which we are using subconsciously.

When single use plastic is mentioned, most people would automatically think of plastic bottles and the likes. So, you may ask, how does it have any relation to the use of wet wipes vs the use of bidets?

To your surprise or not, it is actually highly relevant and here is why.

On 17th June 2019 ‘War on Plastic’ produced an episode which showed the extent of the wet wipe trouble. If you missed the programme follow this link to take a look.

The episode showed that it is not just the plastic packaging in which the wet wipes are bought that is the problem. It highlighted the shocking fact that 90% of wet wipes on the market contain plastic within them that cannot be broken down. In Bristol alone, 16 tonnes of wet wipes had been dumped over a time frame of just 3.5 days.

The worrying fact is, the majority of people probably have no idea that baby or wet wipes contain any plastic at all. Yet, leading baby wipe brands were shown to be made of 84% plastic. That’s almost the whole wipe!

Almost every wipe is another piece of single use plastic which will either be burnt, buried or end up in the sea.

It is also important to note at this point that tissue paper is also not the answer. Almost 270,000 trees are either flushed or dumped in landfills every day; 10% of which is toilet paper.

What is the Solution?

The solution to this issue is not only very simple but also one that has been prominent in Europe and other countries and cultures for several centuries now. It is time that the UK took some tips from their European counterparts and replaced both tissue paper and wet wipes with a Bidet.

In the UK, wet wipes, due to their practical nature, have become an ‘in trend’ parental choice for cleaning their children’s bottoms or even removing their own make-up. The UK itself now consumes over 11 billion wipes per year, making them the 2nd highest consumer in the world. While this trend has rocketed, bidets have been pushed aside as impractical.

Bidets are typically seen as a novelty which you may get in a hotel room on the continent, not a component of greener living. However, it is time to change that mentality and view a bidet as a bathroom essential. Make a move from a 3 piece bathroom to a 4 piece suite. There are both contemporary and traditional options available, so you would definitely be able to find one to suit your family bathroom!

Using a bidet would not only reduce single use plastic and reduce the manufacturing of toilet roll, but it is also a much more hygienic and efficient bathroom feature.

People may argue that bidets have their own environmental concerns such as water usage, but this is simply not true. The manufacturing of wet wipes and tissue paper involves large amounts of water, so by reducing this manufacturing, the use of a bidet would not increase, but in fact slash water usage.

Here, I would like you to take a moment to question what is more important; using a wet wipe for personal convenience or the future state of the environment in which your children are going to grow up in?

If you are one of those people who relies on wet wipes and this article has really made you think about your plastic consumption, then you may start to consider the use of a bidet instead. Maybe you could get the ball rolling by researching into prices, or even speaking to someone about the different options available. Explore our range of bidets to see how they could enhance your bathroom lifestyle.

It’s time to look at bidets as a bathroom necessity and ditch those wet wipes!