Kitchen roll is made from disposable paper, to wipe up spills (thick versions often clog toilets). You could sub with an old tea towel. Reusable paper towels are made from cotton and can be washed after use with biodegradable laundry detergent (avoid fabric conditioner, as this will reduce absorbency). Use with biodegradable cleaning products (so you don’t pollute the oceans, when you wash them in the machine). Earthkind Unpaper Towels are handmade from eco fabric, and ideal to mop up spills. They snap around with metal studs, to use on kitchen roll holders.
Over 27,000 trees are chopped down each day, to make paper kitchen roll (and toilet paper). And kitchen roll can’t be recycled, so has to be binned. Most paper towels are also bleached with chlorine (to make them white) which emits methane gas, that causes climate change. Many brands use trees from the Boreal Forest, home to a lot of endangered wildlife in the northern hemisphere (Scandinavia, Russia).
Dream Cloths are one part sponge, one part cloth (and three parts marvellous!), these are reusable and washable paper cloths to soak up spills or wipe down appliances and countertops. Designed to last around 50 machine washes, after use just toss in the compost bin. Dry naturally by hanging over the tap or sink, and lay flat on the counter. They are good to wipe marble, granite, tile and stainless steel.
greener disposable paper towels
If you need to use paper towels for hygiene reasons, Forest Friendly Paper Towels are made by a company that makes plastic-free bamboo and recycled bathroom tissue, and uses 50% of profits to help build clean toilets in developing countries. Each roll is a blend of bamboo and sugarcane, to handle spills and messes, from countertops to cubicles.
paper towels (or hand dryers?)
If using public bathrooms, the consensus is that it’s best to use the hand dryer. Paper towels are one of the last items to be made with paper, so fibres are so short, they end up as ‘contaminated waste’, as they can’t be recycled again and end up on landfills. They are also more unhygenic and expensive, and one of the major causes of blocked drains, due to people flushing them down the toilet. Tekflo makes eco-friendly hand dryers for offices, hotels etc. It has a built-in hygienic air filter and costs just £169. It’s easy to install, quiet and dries hands in just 9 seconds. Based on high footfall, it should last 5 years.
