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Reduce |
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Buy cleaning materials in bulk and refill containers |
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Reuse |
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Roller towels can be reused |
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Recycle |
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Buy Recycled |
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Paper towels and tissues are a good use for low grade waste |
Many office cloakrooms now rely on warm-air driers, but otherwise paper towels are usually provided. These, along with toilet paper, are, inevitable, single use products, and not suitable for recycling. Composting or incineration with energy recovery would be the most suitable uses for paper towels. Although warm air driers produce no solid waste, their high energy usage has other environmental implications, particularly in adding to carbon dioxide production, which is a greenhouse gas. Another source of waste from washrooms is the packaging used for cleaning materials. There is little which can be done to reduce the production of these wastes, but these types of paper are widely available made from recycled materials.
Recycled tissue products
The Association of Makers of Soft Tissue Papers (AMSTP), which represents the UK manufacturers of these products, uses a code of practice covering environmental claims made for a product. This states that "products claiming to be recycled should be made of 100% waste or state the exact percentage of waste fibre used". The average proportion of recycled fibres used by AMSTP members is now more than 40%, which includes the packaging as well as the product, and there are many products made from 100% recycled fibre. There is no accepted classification system similar to the ABCD code, but eco-labelling criteria for toilet paper and kitchen rolls were approved by the EC Regulatory committee in March 1994. The points system used to award the eco-label covers seven criteria: consumption of renewable and non-renewable resources, emissions of carbon dioxide and sulphur/sulphur dioxide, discharges of organics and chlorinated organics to water, and production of waste. The points system rewards both 100% recycled fibre and papers with a partially recycled content. In theory, tissue made from 100% virgin fibre could gain an eco-label, so the label will not be a certain guide to the purchase of products with a recycled content. It will be necessary to check with your supplier to find out what percentage of recycled fibre is used in their products and how much of this is low-grade waste.