The poor quality of university toilet roll is rubbing some students up the wrong way.
“The toilet paper is so thin, it rips and it’s frustrating as you attempt to tear it off the dispenser,†said Michael Garofalo, junior from Libertyville, Illinois.
Kansas is in the lead when it comes to toilet roll usage, using more than 100,000 rolls every year.
The university currently spends $61,804 purchasing toilet roll every year, the paper supplied is recycled and single ply. Per student this costs $2.06 for each year of study.
Steve Green, in charge of ordering toilet roll, said there were a number of reasons the university had stuck to the one ply paper. If the university switched to two-ply paper, new toilet roll dispensers would be required and may not hold enough paper to last between bathroom cleanings. It would also cost more to change to a more luxurious paper.
The paper was changed to one ply seven years ago when paper products were cut.
However Pittsburg State has recently changed to a new more environmentally friendly paper, core-less and made from environmentally friendly fibre.
“We went to it because of the environmental issue,†said Tonya Pentola, storeroom supervisor for Pittsburg State. “We have had no complaints and it’s comfortable to use. We are satisfied with the change.â€
This new type of paper, unsurprisingly, is more expensive. A total of 12,600 rolls are used each year at a cost of $22,694, approximately 1.8 rolls per student costing $3.24 each year. Pittsburg also had to install new dispensers that would fit the new rolls.
Comparing the two, Pittsburg’s loo roll was more durable and many students said they would be happy to pay the extra dollar per year for the thicker toilet roll.