The Georgia Department of Prisons has received federal funding to replace all toilets in county jails with bidets that would eliminate the need for toilet paper.
Bidets – common across Europe – would allow inmates to wash their undercarriage without having to reply on expensive toilet paper. Switching to jailhouse bidets can also save millions of trees needed for a growing toilet paper supply. Plus, while a single roll of toilet paper requires 37 gallons of water, a bidet uses just one-eighth of a gallon.
State Prison Director John Latrine said the jails spend $234 million a year on furnishing toilet paper to inmates who often “misuse” the product.
“The unfortunate reality is that some inmates misuse the toilet paper or misrepresent themselves when asking for more,” Latrine said. “And that can disrupt a unit’s ability to maintain a reasonable and reliable supply for all of the inmates. This new plan would solve that problem.”
The bidets should be installed by this November, Latrine said in an April 1 press release. It is part of a pilot project by federal corrections officials that could spread to other states if the financial savings is proven.
The move comes after a public defender was arrested in Richmond County for giving an inmate the outer wrapper from a roll of toilet paper. The inmate left the room and distributed the wrapper to other inmates.
Authorities say the wrapper is considered contraband because it is commonly used to roll tobacco or other substances for smoking.
(This story is posted in the spirit of April Fool’s Day.)
