Hong Kong toilet roll study highlights risk of clogging drains, quality concerns
- Consumer Council says four of 25 brands it tested failed to disintegrate fully during a test simulating a flushing toilet
A study of 25 brands of toilet rolls sold in Hong Kong has uncovered issues such as the potential to clog drains and varying quality of material, with some products offering nearly double the sheets per roll compared with others.
The Consumer Council said on Monday that four of the brands it tested had failed to disintegrate fully during a test simulating a flushing toilet, in which a sample piece was placed in a container of water and rotated at a specific speed for 40 seconds.
They included two types of three-ply paper: the Andrex “Classic Clean” and SELECT’s “Deluxe Embossed Bathroom Tissue”.
Both of the five-ply brands tested also failed to break apart sufficiently within the set time.
“They all have their own advantages ... thicker paper is tougher, but harder to flush,” said Gilly Wong Fung-han, the watchdog’s chief executive.
“This is why we urge consumers to pick products according to their habits, environmental considerations, bathroom pipe configurations ... and of course budget.”
Thicker toilet paper also required more wood pulp or bamboo pulp, causing greater impact to the environment, the watchdog said.