Old newspapers helping to clean up
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She is illiterate and said she cared very little about what is contained in the papers. She looked up at me, tying her nearly discoloured scarf tighter.
Slitting the newspapers is a crucial part of her work as a public toilet keeper in Cape Coast. She does it and gives the slit sheets of newspaper to her patrons. The cost of the paper is included in the amount paid for the use of the facility.
Maame Esi has to buy the used newspapers, some of them foreign papers from old newspaper dealers. Sometimes the papers are old Ghanaian newspapers bought from readers and sometimes from old unsold stock of publishing houses.
She looked surprised that I wanted to interview her on the paper she sells to the patrons of the public toilets. 
“These are only papers to clean their butt after using this place and not an item for your news reporting,” she said laughing.
But considering the fact that more than 70 per cent of Ghanaians use the public toilets frequently, this might well be of concern to individuals and even the government.
“Everyone who patronises this place gets paper. Some of them do bring their own paper and it is usually old newspapers too,” she said and added “A few others bring tissue papers, only a few, I must say”.
Kobena Mensah (not real name) is a fisherman and he and his family use the public toilet. He has been using the newspaper for years and was nearly angered by what I asked him.
“If I don’t use the newspaper, what do I use, my sister?” he queried, his overgrown mustache almost entering his mouth. How much do you want me to spend on cleaning my butt after visiting the toilet? I spend money on food, clothing, and rent and on paying school fees for my children and that is enough,” he said.
The truth of the matter was striking, to say the least. His income depends on how much catch is made at sea and considering the depleting state of the sea resources, he was not far from right.
Madam Lucy Aggrey sells at the Anaafo Market in Cape Coast. She laughed at the question, brushing her neatly cut hair backwards with her hands.
I don’t have time to look for tissue paper. I buy the tissue but I virtually do not use it. I use the newspaper. I don’t care about using newspaper or tissue, what is important is that I clean up after using the toilet”.
According to Madam Abrobra, many people use absurd stuff to clean themselves after using the toilet. These, she indicated, include corn cobs, rags and the dried stem of old plantain leaves. “You can ask any of the big men in the offices what they used when they were growing up and see the answers you get.”
And with this advice well taken, I set out with an unpleasant question seeking answers from the shy-looking people in suits in the offices; some with exquisite decor.
From teachers, politicians, journalists, secretaries, and even preachers, the answers were amazing. A senior journalist said the use of the cob was very refreshing.
Though he no longer uses the cob in his home, he recalled the use of the corn cob after visiting the washroom in his village when he was growing up.
Another politician smiled at the question and said he would use the newspaper anytime if there is no toilet paper.
Indeed there is a page on Facebook that says "Yes, I have used yesterday's newspaper when we have run out of toilet paper.” It adds on the page "yep we all have done it before and you are a liar if you say you haven't." Eighty people like the page.
Esi Mummy is 15 years old and hawks old newspapers around Cape Coast. She says her main customers are the toilet keepers. Four sheets of newspaper, that is 16 pages of Ghanaian newspapers which are usually smaller than foreign newspapers are sold for 10 pesewas, she said. Some fish sellers also buy the old newspapers.
“Sales are good and that is how my sister takes care of us, she said.
There are also the publishing houses which must find a way to dispose of their unsold stock.
Mr Asamoah Boahene is an Assistant Circulation Officer with Ghana’s biggest newspaper publishing house, the Graphic Communications Group Limited. He says if there are unsold copies, they must be disposed of. A pack of 1,000 old newspapers go for GH¢100 cedis. He believes that many of these papers end up in the public toilets.
“If it keeps people employed, there is no problem” he said.
I didn’t know what to call it, the “Butt-Cleaning Boom” or “Old newspaper rumble. But whatever it is, there is a big business running, from the publishing houses to the toilet houses.
This means wholesalers who buy directly from the publishing houses are making big money. From the young to the old, educated and illiterate, many make a living from old newspapers.
And the use of newspapers is varied, cutting across social class, age and status. The contents of waste bins of various facilities including health centres, schools, from the primary through secondary schools and tertiary institutions; newspapers are a major butt-cleaning material.
That is not all the old newspaper does. It enjoys a place on exquisite office and library shelves and serves many as a useful research and reference tool.
Various researches have not established that the use of old newspapers causes any health problems. Many old newspapers have been recycled into newspaper sheets, approved toilet paper, egg crates, grocery bags and tissue paper.
The newspaper industry, despite its challenges, will survive and hopefully flourish.
Some paper-recycling companies, including the Super Paper Products Company are operating in Ghana and can work to make the toilet paper more affordable for all.
The next time a journalist sits behind a computer to write a story, he may think about where the article will finally end.
By Shirley Asiedu-Addo/Ghana
