All of you have calculated your emissions and you have surely discovered the unexpectedly high impact of some of your behaviors (eating meat, flying to a sunny destination, etc.) on your total footprints.
Are there any behaviors that you are really willing to change or to improve for the sake of the environment? What challenges do you encounter or think you will encounter while trying to change these things? What help, support, and insights from others would make your life easier with these new behaviors?
Let's discuss these issues and make our pledges here!
Now It's Time for Action >
Avalanche in the school bathroom: why we should eliminate paper towels
My school is known for being a very green school and was recently awarded a green award for our sustainability. However, one habit that Bishop O'Dowd High School still continues is the use of paper towels. And it isn't a healthy nor moderate use-- the trashcans in the bathrooms overflowed with an avalanche of paper towels. And even if the paper towels were compostable, they were not composted because other forms of trash were also mixed into the trash can (and the floor.) Thus, ever since sophomore year, me and two other classmates researched the possible transition from paper towel usage to electric hand dryers.
We first started off by calculating our school usage. We use about a ton (2,000) pounds of paper towels annually. This usage translates to 16 trees, 2.86 cubic meters in landfill, 6,700 lbs of water, and 1905 lbs of paper. Now, THAT is a lot of waste.
There are many problems with the paper industry, but the largest problem is that it is the 3rd largest contributor to CO2 emissions. Not to mention the problems of deforestation, pulping, and pollution.
Thus, we tried to make the transition to hand dryers not only energy effective but cost effective. Although at first hand dryers are expensive-- we calculated the payback.
The Dyson Airblade V, which is the newest and most compact hand dryer, reported a payback of 3.5 years. The transition is not as hard as you think.
The transition to hand dryers will also train students to choose alternatives to paper towels in the future. Because of my research I am now more conscious of paper towel usage, and every time I am presented the choice between paper towels and the hand dryer, I choose the latter. It is integral to keep in mind how even a thin sheet of paper towel can impact a large community of diverse life, all over the world.
I completely agree with you. Students at our school use an excess amount of paper towels. We should invest in making a change to electrical hand dryers in order to improve our sustainability. I have noticed at a majority of public institutions, the switch from paper towels to hand dryers. As you mentioned, using hand dryers is also economically savvy. Many individuals do not think much about everyday decisions like this, and I am glad that you brought this topic up. I hope in the future our school becomes aware of this dilemma and changes to electrical dryers.