University of Colorado sues over "defective" toilet paper, says it clogged toilets in 27 academic buildings
Daily Camera
May 5, 2011
The University of Colorado is blaming "defective" toilet paper for expensive plumbing problems -- including overflowing toilets in 27 academic buildings on the Boulder campus -- that janitorial workers had to deal with at the end of the spring semester in 2009.
In a lawsuit the CU Board of Regents filed last week in Boulder County District Court against Waxie Enterprises Inc. and Royal Paper Converting Inc., officials said they had to call on plumbing contractors and use augers to clear sewer lines in response to the troublesome toilet paper.
In total, CU spent more than $40,000 dealing with the plumbing issues and repairing damage that resulted from the faulty tissue, according to the lawsuit.
"In one instance, the University of Colorado was required to saw-cut concrete and excavate sewer pipes in order to remove an auger from a sewer line that was so bound up and clogged with toilet paper that it became stuck in the plumbing line," CU's attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.
CU began investigating the issue upon noticing that a rising number of toilets were becoming clogged and overflowing in bathrooms in more than 20 buildings on the Boulder campus beginning in early May 2009, according to the lawsuit. The problem, which persisted through June of that year, was traced back to the toilet paper from Waxie Enterprises and Royal Paper Converting, according to the lawsuit.
