Greener handwashing with air dryers
July 14, 2009
What’s better for the environment – drying your hands with a paper towel or an air dryer? It’s a somewhat heated debate!
Well, let’s see. On the paper towel side we have to create the paper (hopefully from post-consumer waste), package the paper, ship the paper, then collect the paper, ship the paper, recycle or landfill the paper. On the air dryer side, we need to manufacture the air dryer, ship the air dryer, provide power to the air dryer, maintain it and eventually recycle it or landfill it. No wonder it’s a bit confusing to figure out!
After a bit of debate during my company’s green committee meeting, I did some looking around and found this article on Tree Hugger. Writer Jenna Watson notes, “…the hand dryer system does better in all impact categories except for resource depletion. Resource depletion is limited to non-renewable resources such as coal, oil, gas and minerals.” And, of course, if you were using a renewable energy supplier such as Bullfrog Power, resource depletion would not be much of a problem either.
Since reading this report I’ve switched to using the air dryer all the time, and really, it works pretty well! Fringe benefit: I think the others using the washroom appreciate the white noise it makes.
I don’t think we’re going to get rid of the paper towels in our office anytime soon, but I have learned that wet, unsoiled paper towels can be recycled, so our green committee is trying to make it easier for people to put used towels in the right place.
Do you go for paper or air dryers when it comes to drying your hands?
Entry Filed under: Recycling and garbage disposal. Tags: air dryers, hand washing.
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1.
Jen | July 14, 2009 at 1:16 PM
I used to use the air dryer until a friend made me paranoid about the dryer just circulating icky bathroom germs onto my freshly washed hands. I don’t know if there’s any truth to that but the thought of it creeped me out enough to shy away from the dryers. I also prefer paper towels because it’s faster to dry your hands with ‘em.
But you’ve certainly made me think of switching back to the dryer!
2.
Megan | July 14, 2009 at 4:48 PM
While it may be better for the environment to use air dryers, it is not better for hand hygiene. The purpose of washing your hands is to scrub off microbiological pathogens. When washing, you need to use flowing water and soap. Rub hands together vigorously, for approximately ten seconds, rinse while still rubbing, and then dry hands with a paper towel. Drying your hands with a paper towel aids in the process of cleaning hands. And, yes, Jen (previous comment), using a dryer recirculates bacteria. Dryers are typically warm and a warm place is a breeding ground for bacteria.
Both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend using paper towels. Please visit barfblog.com for more hand hygiene and food safety information.