Hand Dryers Vs Paper Towels Environmental Impact

Both types of hand dryers have less environmental impact than paper towels.

Hand dryers vs paper towels environmental impact.

They work better than paper towels they cost less in the not so long run and they re better for the environment. Paper towels slate the use and abuse of paper towels the new york times the most thorough treatment i found comes from an mit study referenced by the guardian. It was found that their environmental impact is very close to regular paper towels. A cutaway model of the dyson airblade from the time of its uk launch in 2006.

Life cycle assessment of hand drying systems. Both hand dryers and paper towels carry an environmental cost so the lantern s peers typically advise folks to wipe their hands on their trousers. Sarah lee the guardian as an invention the paper towel isn t much older than the hand dryer. In fact in the us 2 of total landfill consists of paper towels.

Using a standard hand dryer releases 0 02 pounds of greenhouse gas per use. Both consume more energy water and create waste compared to the most efficient hand dryers. The environmental impact of hand drying is therefore most significantly affected by how much and what type of paper towel we use or how much energy is consumed by the electric hand dryer. Calculating the impact of electric dryers.

Clearly electric hand dryers also have an impact on the environment that should not be ignored. At home use reusable cloths in most cleaning tasks. Environmental impact of hand dryers. Hand dryers last between seven to 10 years.

Jet hand dryers which are energy efficient release 0 088 pounds per use. Warm air dryers have the largest impact during use. Whilst there s a significant environmental impact associated with paper towels clearly electric hand dryers also have an impact that we shouldn t ignore however this impact is significantly less than many people think. The environmental impact of electric hand dryers.