Final Blog

Usage of paper towels	Carbon foot print weekly	Carbon foot print yearly
1 roll a week before project	560 gram of carbon/week	29,120 gram of carbon/ year
6 sheets a week since starting	60 gram of carbon /week	3,120 gram of carbon/ year

Usage of paper towels	Water foot print weekly	Carbon foot print yearly
1 roll a week before a project	140 gallon of water/ week	7, 280 gallons of water/ year
6 sheets a week since starting	15 gallon of water/ week	780 gallons of water/ year

I started this project from three months ago. I was heavily users for paper towels, basically I used on drying every single thing and cleaning as well.  Before this project, I used 1 roll of paper towel weakly which consists of 56 sheets. I used to grab 5 or 6 sheets to clean the cabinet or even dry the dishes. After I calculated the carbon and water foot print over the course of the year; I felt guilty to the environment and I decided to cut down my usage. In the beginning, I struggled a lot especially in the public restrooms where there is no hand dryer. I bought a small cotton towel and put it in my bag so I can use it while I am on campus. Moreover, I bought bunch of reusable towels that I can use them at home to dry dishes or clean the stove. I found that reusable towels is the most efficient substitute of paper towels because I can dry a spill of water with a sheet of reusable towel. However, I have to use 2 or 3 sheets of paper towel to dry the spill. I introduced the idea to my friends and family, some of them accept and felt guilty of their usage. Others didn’t care about the environment. Even though, I tried to persuade them that using reusable towels at home would save a lot of money for you.

Cutting the usage of paper towels helped me in decreasing the volume of my trash. My mom also started applying this idea at home. And she said that she saved a good amount of money by not buying kitchen paper towels and using reusable towels at home. Moreover, I introduced the idea of buying a hand dryer and installing it at home as it is not expensive because it is $ 200 and it can last for 10-15 years so it worth it. Unfortunately, I lived at hilltop; the manger refused to install hand drier to bath rooms because he said it would exceed the budget over the summer. Also, the manager said that it used more electricity so we would pay more for electricity as we do right now. I tried to persuade him that some of the hand driers are energy efficient which is not going to use too much electricity, but he still refusing.

Also, I found that sponge was another substitute for paper towel because it could help in drying and cleaning the stove. On the other hand, synesthetic sponge is not good for the environment and for the health in general. First for the environment, it is not natural so the manufactures are still using fossil fuels as energy source as well as water usage to make it. Second, the artificial fiber can only be used for 2-3 days because they started forming a moldy odor as well as recruiting some bacteria and fungus filaments. Unlike natural sponge which can be used for 7 -10 days and it is biodegradable too.

In my previous blogs, I discussed some policies in other countries that help in decrease the overall usage of paper towel by the country. First, some European countries started to put signs on the public restroom in order to advise people about how to use paper towels efficiently in order to decrease the consumption of paper towel. The signs has a title “Eco-friendly” and it tells people that they should use clothes towels whenever possible. Also, they should buy 100 % recycled paper towels. Furthermore, almost all the public restrooms in European countries has a hand drier. Second, Japan has a very successful attempt in reducing the paper towel consumption. The government requires the residents to have a cotton paper towel on their purse instead of using rough paper towels in the restrooms. Also, there is no trash cans in the street which require the residents who still using paper towels to dispose them on their home and pay for their trash. Finally, most of the public restrooms don’t provide either hand dryers or paper towels. Finally, Finland started having bidet shower which person can use in the restrooms instead of using paper towels to wipe down which help in decreasing the overall usage of paper towels.

All in all, I am so glad that I did something for the environment which help in decreasing my overall carbon and water footprint. I am planning to continue in my progress over the summer. Also, I will start thinking about give any other items away like plastic bags. Furthermore, I will try to contact the person who is responsible for the bathroom maintenance on each building and start introducing the idea of installing hand drier in all the campus buildings in order to make Purdue an Eco-friendly campus.  Finally, this project focus on the context of the class because in most of the class lessons; we focused in decreasing the carbon and water footprint to make the environment more sustainable. That’s what I did in my project because as you see my carbon and water footprint increase dramatically over the course of the week since starting.

Blog 4: update in deacreasing the usage of paper towel

It has been three weeks since my third blog. So I completely stop using kitchen paper towel at home to dry the dishes. I either use reusable towels or putting them on a kitchen dish rack. I went to Walmart to buy this one; but I was looking for a metal one to avoid having plastic. So I bought one which said on the box Eco-friendly; unfortunately, I did not at this time anything about green-washing and I threw out in the trash before the green washing lesson. So I was not sure if the product is green washed or it’s actually Eco-friendly. On the other hand, I am still not able to find a new way to substitute my paper towel which I use it to dry my fried chicken or fries. Unfortunately, I could not find accurate information about whether using sponge or reusable paper towels are better to the environment. Furthermore, I think that reusable paper towels are better because sometimes sponge recruit bacteria easily and has a bad odor especially by the end of the week. Moreover, sponge is not reusable at all; we can use it more than one time. While I am using the rest room on campus, I noticed something wired that most of the rest rooms don’t have any hand drier. I noticed that in Mathew hall, Pharmacy school, chemistry building. On the other hand, I noticed that Heavilon hall restrooms have a drier although it is the same age as the chemistry building. I am just wondering why the university did not install hand drier in all of the rest rooms. I think the cost of installing hand drier in rest rooms might be little less than providing paper towels in all the restrooms. Also, the idea of having a small reusable towel is a good idea because it is easy to carry and I can use it many times in a week.

I presented the idea of buying hand dryer and installing it in my kitchen. Unfortunately, I the RA replied back to me after she asked the one who is responsible for remodeling and fixing the apartments after the students leave. He told her that it is costly and they can’t do it in all the buildings over the summer because they have a limited budget that they can’t exceed. Also, he said they did not provide the paper towels to the students on their rest rooms. So that is why they can’t substitute the cost of paper towels with installing a hand drier. Moreover, this project fits into the broader context of the course, because in POL 327 we have been discussing the consequences of increasing the carbon foot print which will affect the climate change as well as increasing pollution. So by cutting down the usage of paper towels, most of the factories would decrease their production of paper towels. This consequently decreases the usage of fossil fuels by these factories.

Many countries decided to cut down their usage of paper towel in order to decrease their water and carbon foot print. In my last two blogs, I discussed how some European countries start advising people on decreasing their consumption of paper towel. Furthermore, I discussed how Japan has a successful attempt in banding the usage paper towels by forcing the public to have a reusable towel in their bag.   In this blog, I want to focus on Finland. Because they start having bidet shower which person can use in the restrooms instead of using paper towels to wipe down. I think this a good idea because it decreases the overall consumption of paper towels in Finland.

http://www.quora.com/Why-do-we-use-toilet-paper-instead-of-water-showers

Update my Progress in Reducing Paper Towels Consumption

It has been three weeks since my first cut down of paper towels. I start noticed the change in the volume of the trash which really surprised me. So for the last week, my trash decreased by about half the amount because I used only one role of kitchen paper for 10 days. Furthermore, my Mom completely stopped using kitchen paper towels for drying. She starts using reusable towels which can absorb more water and remain for much longer. On the other hand, as I spend most of the week here at Purdue in one of the dorms; I start using one sheet of paper towel in order to dry the fried chicken or French fries instead of three sheets. Also, I don’t use paper towel to wipe my stove or cabinet.  I use mostly sponge which is not reusable but I can use for 7-10 days and then throw it away. I am not sure about the carbon foot print of sponge but I will look up and determine which one has less impact on environment whether the reusable paper towel or sponge. While I am using the rest room on campus, I try to use shake my hand very well after washing them so I can use only one sheet. Also, I am thinking about buying a small reusable towel that I can put in my pack bag and use it while I am on campus. I will start doing this from next week and I will give an update about that on my next blog.

I presented the idea of buying hand dryer and installing it in my kitchen. Unfortunately, I live in one of the campus’s dorms so I find that it is against the policy to have a hand dryer in my room. But I asked the RA if she could just give my feedback to the one who is responsible for remodeling the room after this year. She is going to pass the idea and I will give an update in my next blog.  Moreover, this project fits into the broader context of the course, because in POL 327 we have been discussing the consequences of water drought on us and what is the good ways to cut down our consumption of water. So by cutting down paper towels, it helps in decreasing the amount of water that I use it because a lot of studies prove that recycling and manufacturing paper towel use a huge amount of water.

Many countries decide to cut down their usage of paper towel in order to decrease their water and carbon foot print. In my last blog, I discussed how some European countries start advising people on decreasing their consumption of paper towel. In this blog, I want to focus on Japan because they have a very successful attempt with reducing the paper towel consumption. The government requires the residents to have a cotton paper towel on their purse instead of using rough paper towels in the restrooms. Also, there are no trash cans in the street which require the residents who still using paper towels to dispose them on their home and pay for their trash. Finally, most of the public restrooms don’t provide either hand dryers or paper towels.

http://greenspec.buildinggreen.com/blogs/paper-towels-vs-efficient-hand-dryers-new-study-makes-choice-clear

http://www.wehatetowaste.com/japanese-style/

Progress in Reducing Paper Towels Consumption

It has been three weeks since I decided to cut down my consumption of paper towel. I was really happy when I started doing it. Also, I advised my family and friend to decrease their consumption as well and they started putting the idea into their consideration. At home, I started using reusable towels to clean the counter and the stove-top. I usually washed them every other day in the dish washer. On the other hand, I usually fried chicken or fries at home and I usually put them on the plate covered with paper towels so I can get rid of excess oil. So I tried as much as I can to substitute the towels with cartoon paper that can be used more than one time in a day. In campus, I tried to dry my hand with only one sheet of paper instead of three. Also, I tried to use hand drier if it is available. So far, I put down my consumption of paper towel to half a role instead of one and half roles.

I discovered that kitchen paper towel can be substituted by reusable or cotton paper towel that can be used more than one time. Also, I am thinking about buying a hand dryer that can be used frequently at home instead of using paper towel or even reusable towels to dry my hand. The average cost of the hand dryer is $ 200. But I think if I buy used one, it will be much less. So by using air dryer at home isn’t only going to decrease the consumption of paper towel, but it is also going to decrease the consumption of water used to wash reusable towels. This project fits into the broader context of the course, because the course encouraged us to reduce our water and carbon foot print. And by giving up paper towel, I think my carbon and water foot print should be decreased into little less than half.

Most of the European country start to put signs on the public restroom in order to advise people about how to use paper towels efficiently in order to decrease the consumption of paper towel. The signs has a title “Eco-friendly” and it tells people that they should use clothes towels whenever possible. Also, they should buy 100 % recycled paper towels. Furthermore, almost all the public restrooms in European countries has a hand drier.

http://www.handdryer.com/fastdry-hk1800pa-hand-dryer/?gclid=CjwKEAiAyMCnBRDa0Pyex-qswB0SJADKNMKAYEZmn178Uo3ezCryb56cTUGLX7m-wACe2AKBkndUPRoCHi_w_wcB

http://www.simpleecology.com/eco/soft-tissue-paper

Kitchen Paper Towels Impact

I will give up kitchen paper towels. Basically, I use 1-1.5 rolls every week. I consume a lot of paper towels because I feel more confident when I grab a lot in cleaning kitchen counter and stove top. Each paper towel has a carbon footprint of 10 g. so the kitchen roll typically has 66 sheet. I use 1-1.5 rolls every week. So during a course of a week, my carbon footprint is 660-990 grams per week. Which is way more than what I expect. Moreover, the water footprint for one sheet of paper towel is 2.5 gallons. So, my total water footprint for a whole week is 165-247.5 which above the average of an American.

Huge problems are occurring due to excess use of paper towels. First according to Natural Resource Defense Council, the pulp and paper industry is the third largest industrial producer of global warming pollution. Because decomposing paper towel produce methane which increase global warming. Furthermore, paper towel manufacturers always use chlorine which release carcinogenic which affect the environment harmfully. Second, paper towel basically come from cutting down trees that provide the environment with oxygen. environmental organizations claim that manufacturing paper towels usually kill “virgin” trees and exhaust the resource in our world. Third, In order to make one ton of paper towels, 17 trees are cut down and 20,000 gallons of water are consumed. Harvest, manufacture, transport and dispose of paper towel cause air pollution due to burning fossil fuels. Finally, used paper towels can’t be recycled because  paper towels don’t contain any fiber so the cost of recycling them isn’t financially preferred. Moreover, Paper towel wastes make up more than one- third of landfill. Also, according to Environmental protection agency, 28.5% of municipal solid waste produced in United States is paper towel.

Water footprint: http://www.earth911.com/home-garden/hidden-water-in-your-products/

Carbon foot print:  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2010/aug/05/carbon-footprint-drying-hands