Making it easier for consumers to take a “green step” at home, Kimberly-Clark announced the introduction of the first toilet paper in the U.S. without the cardboard tube for use at home – Scott Naturals Tube-Free bath tissue. This innovative product eliminates the cardboard tube that has been the central fixture of rolled toilet paper for more than 100 years – a simple step with major potential to eliminate millions of pounds of material from the waste stream. Scotts Naturals Tube-Free bath tissue is currently being tested exclusively at select Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in the northeast U.S.
U.S. households use an estimated 17 billion bath tissue tubes annually, equivalent to 160 million pounds of waste – equal to the weight of more than 250 Boeing 747 airliners. The cardboard tubes can be recycled – but often are not.