By Susan Wineland
Recycling Tips
Paper towels are a common single-use and increasingly expensive product, and they have a significant environmental impact worldwide.
The production of paper towels requires large amounts of wood pulp, which leads to tree felling, habitat destruction and overall deforestation. Their manufacture also consumes vast quantities of water, mainly due to the large number of trees required to produce them and the excessive water usage during manufacturing. Unfortunately, paper towels are not recyclable because the fibers are too short and small to be useful. (They can be produced with recycled paper, but the production uses a lot of water, and often contains bleach as a whitening agent, which means that they can’t be composted).
The U.S. alone produces more than 3,000 tons of paper towel waste in a year, and paper towels account for 254 million tons of trash every year worldwide. When trash is sent to out-of-state landfills, paper towels remain, generating toxic methane gas.
One of the easiest ways to minimize paper towels and save money is by switching to reusable cloth rags made from old t-shirts, towels or dedicated microfiber cloths, all of which can be washed and reused instead of using disposable paper towels for cleaning tasks around the house. Cloth towels still require water to wash and energy to dry (unless you’re air drying), but they last for years, rather than moments. Other alternatives to paper towels include cloth napkins, which can be washed and used repeatedly, and dishcloths, which are great for drying dishes and cleaning up spills. Tea towels, which are usually very thin and smaller than a hand towel, are great for storing greens and fresh produce. Just wrap the greens in a tea towel, put them into a bowl or glass storage and into the fridge. If short on absorbent rags at home, we can look for cotton cloth towels or tea towels at Goodwill and other thrift stores.
There are many great products available that make the switch from paper towels easy. Swedish dishcloths – also called sponge cloths – are a popular type of washable and reusable super-absorbent cloth made from a blend of cotton and cellulose. They were invented in Sweden and are still made there and in other locations. Often used as a sustainable alternative to sponges and paper towels, Swedish sponge cloths are 100 percent biodegradable, meaning they can be tossed in the compost – not the trash – when their useful life has ended. All their cloths are printed with non-toxic dyes, making them fully safe for soil, water, plants and animals as they are disposed of and composted in a home compost bin or a municipal compost collection bin. Due to their durability, they can be washed in the dishwasher, washing machine or by boiling them. They wring out and air dry very quickly, so they can be used over and over for months without building up the bacteria, grime and odors like kitchen sponges or towels. Swedish dishcloths are also more durable and absorbent than traditional paper towels. This high absorbency (up to 20 times their weight in water) is super-convenient. They’re also often packaged with recyclable or compostable materials, rather than plastic packaging.
Another similar product is If You Care sponge cloths, which are also durable and absorbent. They are made of 70 percent cellulose and 30 percent cotton. They are great at cleaning any surface at all. Just rinse them and wring out excess water to increase absorbency. They can be used with water, soap and water or any household cleaner. After using them, rinse them thoroughly, wring out the water and leave them flat to dry.
Cloth can be washed at temperatures up to 190 degrees Fahrenheit in a dishwasher or washing machine with normal loads, but don’t use any bleach or chlorine products. After washing them, leave them to air dry.
Using far fewer paper towels is a simple and cost-effective way to significantly reduce resource waste. By upcycling old cloth towels and t-shirts and/or buying some very practical sponge cloths, it’s an easy switch to more economic and environmentally friendly alternatives.
When your cloth towels or t-shirts have outlived their usefulness, bring them with the rest of your worn out, old or torn clothes to one of three textile collection bins in Orange for recycling at Bay State Textiles. White collection bins with the Orange town seal are located at High Plains Community Center by the pavilion, at the top of the hill at the transfer station and recycling center, as well at the Public Works driveway on Lambert Road. The town is paid for all of the textiles collected, making it a win-win for everyone – especially our environment.
Susan Wineland is a member of the Orange Recycling Committee.