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Parents set strict rules as kids go through a BILLION rolls of toilet paper a year
Reach Daily Express | May 15, 2026 3:39 PM CST

Kids in Britain are using more toilet paper than anyone else, research suggests. Currently kids are flushing up to 13,476,238 miles worth of toilet roll down the loo every year.

A poll of 2,000 parents of 3-19-year-olds found half are convinced their children use too much loo roll and are the main users in the household. Of these, 78% have pressured them to use less and a quarter have even set quotas for how many sheets should be used.

The findings suggest in one year children could be getting through more than 1.1billion rolls in total, containing approximately 20,000 tonnes of recycled materials.

Hygiene and health company Essity, which is the UK's biggest user of recycled paper for tissue production, carried out the study to mark the opening of its new £30million recycled paper facility at its manufacturing site in Prudhoe, Northumberland.

The facility has capacity to take in over 105,000 tonnes of recycled paper annually, turning it into new toilet tissue for UK families and businesses.

Images released by the hygiene and health company show the sheer scale, with children from Prudhoe Castle Primary School posing with a giant 500kg recycled paper bale equivalent to over 4,237 rolls of toilet paper.

Carole Weatherspoon, Key Stage 2 teacher at Prudhoe Castle First School, said: "We were delighted to partner with Essity to launch a recycling collection of epic proportions - and educate our mixed year three and four class on the recycling journey from classroom to bathroom.

"Just seeing the scale of recycling materials used to make toilet tissue might make our children think twice about the amount of toilet roll they are using.

"And our hope is that by visiting the Prudhoe production facility, the recycled bail yard and hearing about how things work, they'll also be encouraged to pay attention to their own recycling at home."

According to the study, parents have gone to great lengths to reduce the amount of tissue used, including setting a time limit for how long they are allowed to be in the bathroom for. One in ten parents have insisted their older children go out and buy new supplies.

Martin Hallissey, for Essity said: "The opening of this recycled fibre facility is a proud moment for everyone at Essity's Prudhoe mill.

"It's a significant investment in our site and our people, and it strengthens our ability to source recycled fibre while improving efficiency and reducing waste.

"This facility puts Prudhoe at the forefront of sustainable tissue manufacturing in the UK."


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