Two-ply paper like this will be implemented in University of Maryland dorms.

Two-ply paper like this will be implemented in University of Maryland dorms.

In the next few weeks, the University of Maryland’s dorms will transition from one-ply to two-ply toilet paper.

The switch comes after months of Residence Hall Association advocacy, which some RHA members referred to as the “toilet-paper initiative.” The RHA initially asked Residential Facilities to look into two-ply toilet paper about a year ago, said Tzvi Glazer, the RHA’s Residential Facilities Advisory Board chairman.

“Initially, I was under the misimpression that we were buying the state’s toilet paper and there wasn’t any alternative,” said Jon Dooley, Residential Facilities director. “We learned there was an alternative, but it costs more.”

Dooley called the change an “extensive pilot program.” This university currently spends about $74,500 a year on toilet paper, and the change will add about $23,000 in expenses, Dooley said.

The change will last for the rest of this academic year before being evaluated for cost, said Jeff McGee, assistant director for building services.

“Part of it is offset by the fact that people don’t need as much [two-ply toilet paper], but we’re not sure what that means for the budget,” McGee said. “We are kind of guessing that it is 50 percent more cost overall, but we’re not sure.”

A case of two-ply costs $2 more than one-ply, and Residential Facilities will go from buying an average of 7.5 cases a day to 12.5 cases a day, McGee said. A roll of two-ply has half as many sheets as one-ply per roll — 500 instead of 1,000 — which ultimately means more cases.

However, people potentially using less two-ply as opposed to one-ply could lower that additional cost, which is what Residential Facilities will be watching for, Dooley said. Glazer, a sophomore government and politics and sociology major, said he thought the switch might even decrease cost overall.

“If it ends up being cheaper, we might as well switch to it,” Glazer said. “We don’t know, and that’s the point of the pilot program.”

Until it is evaluated for cost, however, students will be able to enjoy the benefits of two-ply for the rest of this year.