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.
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