Paper Towels or Warm Air Hand Driers?
Posted by Norman Fong
Having passed through many restrooms lately, we wondered what is more eco in the bathroom. This site does some does analysis to determine which is more green in the bathroom, paper towels or a warm air hand drier.
“Carried out by Environmental Resources Management (ERM), an independent research organisation, the streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study concludes that the use of hand driers results in a smaller environmental footprint than the use of paper towels, based on a number of assumptions such as the use of two paper towels per dry and the use of a hand drier for an average of 30 seconds per dry. The study suggests that, with regards to environmental performance, paper towels should not be chosen in preference to the hand air drier modeled within the research.”
They did not really take into account the costs involved taking trash away. To be even more eco, just shake the water off your hands and then dry them on your pants.
Paper Towel or Cloth Rag?
Is it better to use 100% recycled paper towels or a washable cloth rag? Cloth rages are more eco friendly and green especially when you wash them with your regular laundry. 100% recycled content paper towels are much better than regular paper towels.
Filed under: Conservation, Easy, Eco Friendly, Effort, Electronics, Energy, Environment, Money, Reduce | Tags: paper towels, warm air hand dryer
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2 Responses to “Paper Towels or Warm Air Hand Driers?”
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April 17th, 2009 at 2:56 am
Keep fighting the good fight eco-friendly folks! Bit by bit we can make a difference. FYI I work for an eco-friendly promotional products manufacturer and encourage everyone to take a look. We can, and will, make a difference.
August 17th, 2011 at 5:04 am
The whole argument comes down to which you are more interested in; being eco-friendly or anti-germ.
If you are a germ freak then Paper Hand Towels are for you because cloth rags and even the more modern air dryers simply can’t compete.
But if it is eco-friendly your after then go with rags.
However, the most eco-friendly option is drying your hands on your cloths / hair.
Clarky