ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A Dutch research facility is equipping its lavatories with smart toilet paper dispensers that count the number of sheets each visitor uses.

The aim of the move at the Wageningen Campus in Gelderland is to reduce toilet paper consumption and make the facility more sustainable.

Data on the number of sheets of paper that each visitor uses is passed on to the building manager in real time. The dispensers themselves are made from recycled plastic and the rolls are made from elephant grass.

"Many people have no idea how much paper they use in the course of a year in their visits to the loo," said facility professor Simon Sidebottom. "Research shows that the Dutch use an average of nine sheets per toilet activity and go to the toilet an average of 6.8 times a day."

He says people use significantly more toilet paper if they think no one is checking up on them. "Experiments also show that people think twice before giving an extra wipe if they know someone is keeping count of their toilet paper usage," he said. "This is a simple way of improving sustainability. It will also cost less to spend a penny."

Wageningen Campus is a centre for research and education and is divided up into more than 90 chair groups, each of which is led by a professor.

As an extra encouragement for efficient toilet paper use, a prize of a brown sweater will be awarded to all members of the chair group demonstrating the most environmentally-aware toilet performance.