Switch to recycled paper towels
Why This is Green
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council if every household in the U.S. replaced a single roll of virgin fiber paper towels with 100 percent recycled ones we could save 544,000 trees. Imagine the impact if every household did something as simple as switching entirely to recycled paper towels.
The EPA recommends using recycled paper products to help preserve forests, conserve natural resources, save energy, and to reduce solid waste, air and water pollutants, and the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Amazing how such an easy change can have such a big impact.
Learn More
- EnvironmentalPaper.org: Q & A On The Environmental Benefits Of Recycled Paper
- Grist.org: Putting A Bounty Of Paper Towels To The Test
- EPA.gov: Benefits Of Paper Recycling
- The New York Times: Mr. Whipple Left It Out--Soft Is Rough On Forests
- MSNBC: Ready To Rethink Toilet Paper For Earth Day?
- NRDC.org: Environmental Ratings Of Household Tissue Paper Products
How To
Absorbent recycled paper towels do exist. Check the packaging when shopping to see if the product is made from recycled paper. Or you can consult the NRDC’s Environmental Ratings for paper towels to find out if your paper towel brand of choice made the list. If not, switch to one that is made from 100 percent recycled paper with as much post-consumer content as possible.
If you don’t like the first brand you try, try and try again.
Avoid paper products that are whitened with chlorine bleach, which can release harmful chemicals such as dioxins and furans—known carcinogens—as manufacturing process byproducts. Look for the words Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) or Process Chlorine Free (PCF) on the packaging.
While you’re at it, you might want to consider using less paper towels, and more reusable cloths and sponges, with a possible goal of giving up paper towels altogether. Though they’re undeniably handy for draining bacon.
