are paper towels bad for the environment

2021/05/21

people just want the answer to a green living question. Onestudy found theres no benefit to buying recycled paper towels. Americans spent about $5.7 billion on paper towels, Amazon's Buff Pro Multi-Surface Microfiber Towel. And then, they are made for single-usage and disposal. They are starting to be carried most places and even in big box stores. The great debate over paper towels vs air hand dryers being harmful for the environment might be controversial, however, it is a topic worth discussing. Cold air dryers are 80% more energy-efficient than warm air dryers. But, CO2 isn't the overarching issue. Impactful Ninja participates in affiliate & advertising programs designed to provide a means to this site to ensure continuous content creation for you. Lastly, save energy and reduce microplastic production by washing your cloth towels with cold water and air drying. Get our best recipes, grocery finds, and clever kitchen tips delivered to your inbox. But some of these links are so-called "affiliate links" to products that we recommend. The pulp is cleaned with chlorine bleach and is ready to be rolled into white paper towels. Most come from tree farms. Why you ask, when theres other options available? Then, after one wipe, paper towels cannot be used again. However, it's a project in that I invest a lot of time and also quite some money. How To Go Paper Towel-Less in the Kitchen. Ethical LivingSustainable LivingConscious EatingCircular EconomyClimate ActionCharity Support. Americans are lazy and we lived without them for years, who need convenience, my Grandparents sure didnt! Paper towels arent just trees. This is similar to the grocery paper bag vs. the bring from home cloth bag debate. Trees benefit the environment by absorbing carbon dioxide as they grow. But, studies show that recycled paper towels overall environmental impact is still substantial and almost equal to virgin paper towels. Buy we are concerned with the softness of our toilet paper. Most of these links are informational-based for you to check out their primary sources with one click. When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission - but at no additional costs to you. Keep reading for more about this relatively easy lifestyle change that will positively impact your life and the planet, for the better. Sure you can use newspaper instead of paper towels, but we dont get the newspaper and neither does anyone in our building. Although many try to argue that paper is paper in any form and the numbers should still apply, it feel like arguing that because tigers have been known to kill people we must eliminate household cats because they are both felines.

Finally, the rolls are cut out to the desired shapes, packaged in plastic, and sent out for distribution. First, and most importantly, we still only recommend products that we believe add value for you. Do you still use paper towels in your kitchen? This includes all operating costs for running this site and the content creation itself. Usually paper towels are treated with heavy chemicals, bleaches and dyes to make them sturdy enough to absorb water without falling to bits, and because theres only so many times paper can be recycled before the cellulose fibres that make up the paper are too short to be woven into new products. While the manufacturing process produces greenhouse emissions, around 98 per cent of the global warming potential of an electric hand dryer comes from the energy it uses once installed. So, what happens to these paper products? Green and Earth friendly products are a huge corner of the money making market and its only a matter of days, months or years before a better product thats pocketbook friendly appears and will become the main product found in stores. Depending on the model, one push of a warm air hand dryer button will produce emissions of around 20 to 80 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent. Landfills are filled with disposable items like diapers, napkins, printer paper, notebooks, tissues, and paper towels. TreeHugger: Recycle Paper Towels Is It Possible? Virgin pulps are made from softwood trees as they contain longer fibers which make the paper stronger. It is a passion project of mine and I love to share helpful information with you to make a positive impact on the world and society. Unlike paper and cardboard, paper towels are strongly advised to not be recycled. And when there is an affiliate program for these products, we sign up for it. We have proven the Hanzl hand towel system to make a: 0330 700 6000 Therefore, if you're actively looking to reduce your environmental impact and waste, giving these babies up is a solid start. Why We Use Paper Towels In Our KitchenPaper towels in the kitchen. LetsGoGreen states that for every single roll of recycled paper towel used, 544,000 trees are saved thats a lot of trees! Eventually, my dream is to one day turn this passion project into my full-time job and provide even more helpful information. Scientists have found that warm air dryers are just as bad as paper towels in carbon emissions.

The aim of Impactful Ninja is to provide you with actionable insights to help make a positive impact on the world & society. They come in a pack of 12, and they're black so you don't need to worry about stains. Infants and toddlers are especially susceptible to the effects of chlorine bleach.

You will be surprised at how many you use every single day. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. On the opposite side, maybe youre feeling the reverse effects of green goers around you. That same year, it was estimated that every American spent an average $17.50 on paper towels, which definitely adds up especially if you're buying new rolls once a month. :), 15 Green Living Printables to Make Going Green Easier, sustainable, reusable paper towel alternatives. A downside to jet air dryers is they are very loud.

In our apartment, we use Amazon's Buff Pro Multi-Surface Microfiber Towel ($17.79). Over 13 billion pounds of paper towels are used per year in America alone. Air dryers are better at drying our hands and do not produce any waste in landfills. She seeks out kitchens that make the best pie and farmers with fresh eggs. Recycled rags or old clothes also make great alternatives to cloth towels. This is not necessarily appropriate to put them in bathrooms in public spaces. High efficiency = low consumption = generates less waste. Cloth has a very large carbon footprint, and many people arent saving rags that long. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Not to mention most of them are wrapped in a thin, non-recyclable plastic. Some better sustainable alternatives are reusable cloth towels and modern air dryers. The broader environmental picture is pretty large in scope. Choosing recycled paper towels is a significant first step to sustainability. It is a passion project of mine and I love to share helpful information with you to make a positive impact on the world and society. It has also been claimed to kill virgin trees and is depleting the worlds resources one roll at a time. Well that isnt exactly correct. But in all honesty, you don't need to purchase anything fancy an old t-shirt or towel will do. In fact roughly 95% of the articles we read started out saying paper towels were bad and then morphed into some long-winded tirade about completely different environmental things. Here Are the Facts, 6 Most Sustainable Woods for Decking?

This use and abuse of paper towels harms our environment at the cost of our convenience. Weekly answers to your most pressing green living questions. Cloth towels are reusable and will last for as long as possible if you look after them. Paper products biodegrade.

Because they just work better. And when you buy something through a link that is not an affiliate link, we wont receive any commission but well still be happy to have helped you. These paper towels are often used for composting. Progress Over Perfection, I keep telling her. If you're looking for an easy way to cut down on costs and reduce your environmental impact, giving up paper towels is a really easy way to do so. According to TerraPass, the carbon output of paper towels is relatively minimal amounting to about 0.06 pounds of carbon dioxide per roll. If you have a garden they are great for composting and can be mixed in with the rest of your kitchen scraps.

A post shared by PACKAGE FREE (@packagefreeshop). And at this point in time, all money is reinvested in sharing the most helpful content with you. If you use paper towels on a daily basis, this creates quite a bit of waste. Today, almost every public toilet has a hand air dryer. Our favorite reusable rags will kick your paper towel obsession instantly, and will definitely save you quite a bit of cash. Well be more concerned with this point when they start making unbleached paper products that are absorbent and soft. And that we love to link back to where we found all the information for each of our posts. Eventually, my dream is to one day turn this passion project into my full-time job and provide even more helpful information. Which ever side of the fence youre on, it seems like a silly point to cause so much drama, like there should be other issues we might be able to make a bigger personal impact on. Because they fit into a dispenser with a (battery-free!) We could use a sponge cloth to pick up the slimy puke-y mess, but it just doesnt stick to the sponge and we always end up with it on us, running to the the sink like a small child chanting, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew! Paper towels take uptwo% of the space in landfills across the US. So we should recycle them when were done? For example, as Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. But something is required to catch the grease or help soak what little is left on the surface of your foods when they come out of the hot oil, not doing so makes for soggy snacks and no one wants that. All Rights Reserved, Feeling overwhelmed by what it means to go green? How Green Is It To Use Plastic Produce Bags?

But the chemicals, what about the chemicals?! If instead, you buy yourself a nice set of dishrags, you're paying a one-time fee for something you can use for years. But ultimately, what is the impact of paper towels? When you do buy paper towels, buy unbleached, processed chlorine-free (PCF) or totally chlorine free (TCF).

The paper towel is a common household item and is an ever-growing global industry. And for the germaphobes, we promise: it really isn't gross. In addition, trees for paper products arent depleting our forests as they are a grown crop in this country, just like corn and potatoes. And, as youve already known, this habit is not sustainable at all. Like other not-so-green products, paper towels are a single-use disposable item.

The Hanzl Eco hand towel rolls are a great solution, as they boast great ecological credentials, as well as being the most hygienic option. So why do we still use them? I used to buy paper towels like everyone else, but when my boyfriend and I moved in together, we decided that giving them up would be an easy way to slash costs, as our rent was about to go up from our old place, which we lived in with several roommates. by The Green Living Detective March 31, 2018 9:01 am 2,970 views1. And that we love to link back to where we found all the information for each of our posts. We dry our hands, wipe down counter tops and clean up most messes just fine. The Controversy So why is there SO MUCH FUSS about paper towel use in the kitchen? The natural colour of the hand towels reflects how natural they really are no bleaches, dyes or heavy chemicals used in the production process, unlike most other paper hand towels.

We figured it was better to be honest about our efforts to reduce our paper towel usage (not because were trying to be green), why we think they can still be essential in the kitchen and how to be ok with the stigma that surrounds their use.

What do these affiliate links mean for you? However, it's a project in that I invest a lot of time and also quite some money. February 13, 2021 at 10:24 am. Best Green Solution:You can reduce your use of paper towels quite easily at home with a few cloth replacements, like cloth napkins or sustainable, reusable paper towel alternatives.

They are also dust/lint free, which is a unique feature among recycled papers. Wilbur is a Boston Terrier with horrible acid reflux issues and what goes inside his body doesnt always stay there. Paper towels were first developed as a real way for medical facilities to stop the spread of germs. First, lets look at paper towels. All my Green Living Investigations are meant to be read in just a minute or two, so you can get back to finding a green life thats just right for you. Manufacturing paper towels consumes a lot of trees, water, energy and fuel. One day, I just couldn't wash out the squishy peanut butter jar one more time.

sales@unisanuk.com, Environment Manager - Global Drink Manufacturer. The UK National Health Service recommends that jet hand dryers not be used in clinical settings for this very reason, as well as how unhygienic they are. The current pandemic has really emphasised the hygiene factor, and it has outweighed the environmental factor. And wonder, why? So, I became the Green Living Detective. Even though paper towels can be made from recycled paper, they cant be recycled or reused as they are considered contaminated waste. We take great strides to eat local, fresh, and in season. So recycled paper towels must be better, right?

They include dioxins along with other components to increase the absorbency, but unsurprisingly, the process isnt disclosed in the roll of paper towels. It is heated, dried, and rolled out to form paper sheets.

Although sometimes they are composted, most end up in landfill. The last reason we still keep a roll on hand is because of our 4 legged friend, Wilbur. The chemicals used to treat the pulp also consume and pollute the surrounding waters and habitats. Given a choice, what do you use: a paper towel or an electric hand dryer? However, using paper towels doesnt require electricity, whereas warm air and jet hand dryers do. It is also reported that paper towels count for 20 to 40% of waste from offices and dorms alone. Even better sustainable options are biodegradable cloth towels, usually made from bamboo. Surprisingly, it came out pretty equal in a cradle-to-grave analysis of water use. Youve heard our side of the story, now tell us yours.

Hey fellow impactful ninja ? In terms of CO2 emissions and water consumption, recycled paper towels are not any better or sustainable for the environment. Or, for many of our posts, we also link to our favorite books on that topic so that you can get a much more holistic overview than one single blog post could provide. So we had to ask: Are paper towels sustainable? But, only if they are unbleached and not greasy. One studyused a bunch of math and science to determine if cloth rags or paper towels were greener for housecleaning. What does this mean for me personally? We will now look at each stage in detail to understand the life-cycle of paper towels. Impactful nInja | Powered by GreenGeeks. If we arent cooking our bacon in the oven, paper towels are almost a necessity for taking care of business with the microwave (without having one of those silly looking uni-tasker trays roaming around). Every great invention has its flaws. But in sticking with using the right tool for the job idea, towels and sponge cloths also have the tasks they work best for too! You may also see products with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. If you had to wipe down a greasy pot, its probably way more environmentally friendly to use an unbleached paper towel and dispose of it than use a rag, which then needs to be washed in hot water (that needs to be heated by gas or electricity), use soap, use precious fresh water, use electricity for the washing machine, use electricity or gas for the dryer, the water then needs to go to the sewage station which requires energy to be cleaned, etc, etc. We grow, can, pickle and try to only eat out when we cant make it better at home. This site is powered by renewable energy and all hosting-related CO2 emissions are offset by three times as many renewable energy certificates. You can use them once or a couple of times, depending on what you're doing, before tossing them in the washing machine. There still is packaging, landfill space, and energy for making and disposing cloth products.

How many trees or gallons of water are we going to keep using to keep our hands dry and clean? What do these affiliate links mean for us? In offices or dorms, they often take up 20-40% of the total waste. But that's still a long time to go. These trees are still producing oxygen and taking out CO2 Using recycled paper towels may seem like a more sustainable option to save a few trees and prevent chemical pollution. But fortunately not this site. In Ontario, for example, paper towels are spread across landfills to strengthen the soil and prevent erosion. A few layers of paper towels to catch the grease, hands down, make for the crispiest bacon, with little clean up or frustration. First, and most importantly, we still only recommend products that we believe add value for you.

However, the reusability aspect trumps the single-use trait of paper towels. Copyright 2022 Green Matters. Were not so concerned with the softness of our towels, thats just snooty! Thats why you dip your hands in and out of the air stream. They dont recycle well.

If you could only see the size of my Grandmothers TV. All rights reserved. For example, when we wrote a post about the environmental impact of long showers, we came across an EPA recommendation to use WaterSense showerheads. Why We Think Theyre Still Ok To UseDespite all the criticism paper towel users receive, we still think they are a-ok in the kitchen. Ace-Tex: Paper Vs Cloth What are the greenest options? The carbon that they store in their wood helps slow the rate of global warming. We will take this time to note they do make eco-friendly paper towels.

I did it, and it's significantly reduced my regular expenses, as well as my environmental impact. It really depends on the situation, where you live, what paper product you are using, etc. . The amount of time that paper towels take to biodegrade varies, but typically it is about two weeks to a month per paper towel. Paper towels are bleached out with chemicals at the factories. The whats best out of paper towels and air hand dryers depends on context. Although we do keep a small jar of lard or fat in our fridge from the rendering of other meats, there are still pans to wipe out, instead of sending that grease down your drains and into your pipes. The environmental impact of manufacturing is about equal to virgin paper towels and they both end up in the trash in the end. Your best bet will be trying to keep them clean and compost them when possible. How To Go Paper Towel-Less in the Kitchen, (Images: too-hectic& Flickr members Dalboz17, ifijay, colinjcampbell, klynslis, swimboy1, nahlinse licensed for use under Creative Commons, Sarah Rae Trover & Elizabeth Passarella). Rags require water and energy to wash. Paper towels require 0 water and energy to wash and that needs to also go into the environmental equation. Not only does their production heavily contribute to deforestation and therefore global warming, but they also create exorbitant amounts of waste especially since they're unfortunately considered a staple purchase in many households around the world. Youd be surprised at how much goes into making your perfect batch of paper towels. It would also significantly lower our environmental impact, which was something we were looking to improve upon in the kitchen and in the realm of household products, in general. auto cutting mechanism, it cuts the same size sheet every time, meaning you use less, and there is a lot less waste created, increasing your sustainability. The life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a method to evaluate the environmental impacts of products. Stanford Magazine: Taking Paper Towels to the Compost Pile: Essential Answer, Forest Stewardship Council: Consumers Guide To Forest-Friendly Living.

Over the years, companies have strategically used LCA to research and create more sustainable products. Once used, paper towels are soiled with dirt, oils, and other solvents. That said, recycled paper towels or paper products are harder to recycle. Paper towels are perfect for removing all the little bits of stuff left in the bottom of your pan after cooking something tasty!

Outside of work, he is a passionate salsa dancer, fast runner, and multiple Ironman finisher.

Think about it: that could amount to more than $200 annually.

Anyway, paper towels arent great, but there is such a broader environmental footprint than just a few factors. Recycled paper towels or FSC certified products will make a difference to carbon emissions and our landfills. 254 million tons of used paper towels are collected globally every year! Dennis is the founder of Impactful Ninja and passionate about enabling you to make a positive impact on the world & society. Also, they are bleached to offer them their white colour. Here are the Investigations that changed me, * The environment is an enormous complex machine with a million and one moving parts. Being green enough is a whole new way to keep up with the Jones. Including better and sustainable alternatives you can use instead! The Post and Courier Study: Washing clothes on cold setting can reduce microplastics in local waters, Standford Magazine: Handy Options Paper Towels vs. Blow Dryer: Essential Answer, How Sustainable Is Black Cherry Wood? At this stage, recycled paper towels would be easier to compost than virgin paper towels as they are less likely to be bleached.

Jet air dryers, on the other hand, arent hot. Long story short, no one can really tell us why. Paper towels are great for a quick fix, but they may not benefit the environment in the long haul. We can all agree that overall paper towels are not sustainable for our environment. They have a tremendous negative impact on the environment that we have largely ignored for far too long. Its all the same factories and gets shipped on all the same trucks. Hold on to your eco-friendly hats, youre in for quite a ride, (Please note that use of the word we in this post is intended to represent my husband and I. And when you buy something through a link that is not an affiliate link, we wont receive any commission but well still be happy to have helped you. I spend the time doing rigorous research on green living questions so you don't have to. In 2017, according to The Atlantic, Americans spent about $5.7 billion on paper towels. If you had to choose a recycled paper towel, your best sustainable option would be going for one that is unbleached, TCF, and FSC certified basically, anything brown. Green Matters is a registered trademark. You will find these products by looking for brown paper towels with Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) labels. Paper towel production contributes to deforestation, which in turn, leads to habitat loss, wildlife endangerment, higher greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore, rising global temperatures. So we linked to where you can find them. Recycling Station Components & Waste Chutes, Spill Control & Containment & Hazardous Storage, ProfilGate Footwear & Wheel Cleaning System, National Health Service recommends that jet hand dryers not be used in clinical settings. They bring unwanted chemicals into our homes from the processes in which they are made.

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