Spoilers: it’s a long time.
How many bathroom-based products do you go through in a month?
10? 20? 100 or so?
You probably don’t know, it’s a lot to count.
Lucky for you then that you don’t have to because the guys over at Tap Warehouse have only gone and figured out exactly how much hygiene and cosmetic waste us women are likely to produce over a lifetime.
It’s 52,00o items. Fairly staggering.
Approximately 90 percent of kitchen waste across the UK is recycled, while just 50 percent of bathroom waste is – despite there being plenty of recyclable, reusable options across cosmetic and other bathroom products.
The group considered the bathroom waste generated by the average woman including disposable razors, cotton pads, wet wipes, moisturisers, shampoo, conditioner, and nappies.
They found that each year, we’re creating over 500 pieces of bathroom waste, amounting to over 50,000 items over the course of our lives.
So, just how long does each of the above products actually take to decompose?
Well, it’s a long time. Just take a look at the below infographic.
Grim enough.
Tap Warehouse have also compiled a list of ways to be more environmentally friendly in the bathroom.
This includes buying bars of soap instead of bottles, using reusable sanitary products, and swapping disposable razors for safety ones.
It also involves using a second recycling bin in the bathroom as you would in the kitchen, checking if cosmetic products can be recycled, and recycling contact lenses.
You can check out the infographic below for more environmentally conscious ideas.
Do your bit. Go on.