In this short talk, activist Joe Smith gives us a solution for saving over 500,000 pounds of paper towels from landfills every year. Follow Joe's simple instructions for drying and you'll be part of the solution!
This is a short talk, coming in under 5 minutes. Let's give our brains a little break this week; comment if you've got another tip for saving the world, but feel free to watch, implement and NOT comment if you'd like this week.
Happy 4th of July!
Getting people to think about the environment is the first thing. I'm hoping that seeing this trick will sensitize me to other ways I have a negative impact on my world. I'm eager to try this. I think the repetition he included will help me to remember this. I've tried going without paper towels, but it's weird. I wash well, shake and then push the door open with my elbows, waving my hands a few times. It's not very satisfying. But this might be. The fold isn't intuitively obvious. But I plan to give it a shot.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that he should mention "Next year, toilet paper." Coe had a Director of Physical Plant who complained that the women were using too much toilet paper and so he posted a sign in the women's bathrooms. Another sign appeared, sarcasm intended, "Use both sides of the toilet tissue."
ReplyDeleteFinally I am head of the curve!
ReplyDeleteHmmm....no mention of wiping hands on pants.
ReplyDeleteI will have to try the "fold" but I have been able to get the job done with a single trifold towel per trip for years.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of the story our guest speaker at this year’s commissioning ceremony told. He is a public school teacher and a National Guard officer. One day he went into the boys restroom to check on things. As it turns out there were three young men taking care of business at the urinals. The first boy finished up and thoroughly washed his hands used plenty of soap and several towels. On his way out he said “My father is in the Air Force and they teach that sanitation is very important”. The second boy finished up and used very little water, a tiny bit of soap and a half a paper towel, on his way out he said “My father is in the Navy and sometimes they are out at sea for long periods of time and it is important to conserve resources”. The last young man finishes up skips the sink completely and heads out the door saying “My dad is in the Army and in the Army they teach us not to pee on our hands.
I first saw this video about two months ago and am just not getting into the habit of using only one towel. I had been using 2-3 for such a long time that I have been pulling them off without thinking. Having watching the video again, I hope it will serve as another prompt.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Chris: shake and pants.
ReplyDeleteI have a washcloth with Japanese characters on it--seems to me a Japanese friend said it was a "towel." I believe in Japan people carry them in their bags to use when drying off wet hands.
ReplyDeleteI don't carry mine around with me, but maybe I should!
I love paper towels. I use multiple towels to dry my hands. I use them to dry my fruits and vegetables after I've washed them. I use them to clean my mirrors and wipe the counters. I must reform.
ReplyDeleteYou could also use a hand dryer, most bathrooms have them. Or, replace the soap with hand sanitizer and skip the drying all together.
ReplyDeleteI am glad of this reminder, particularly since I've taken to using multiple paper towels in Hickok ever since Physical Plant (my suspicion only) switched to a cheaper, less-absorbent brand. Given the number of times I use the Hickok washroom each year I could probably save an entire forest.
ReplyDeleteI switched from paper towels to wiping my hands on my jeans several years ago as a New Year's resolution, and honestly it works better than most place's paper towels. I wonder, though, how this compares for resource conservation with convincing people to turn off the lights as they leave the restroom?
ReplyDeleteHow many people remember the long rolls of cloth towels that used to be standard in public restrooms. My dad, who was a mechanic, had them at his shop. Every few days the linen company would come by to replace the used rolls with freshly laundered toweling, hopefully before the entire roll was soiled.
ReplyDeleteI'll take towels over the hand dryers any day...pants are always used with those...can't wait to try this out soon
ReplyDeleteI like it! The other thing I need to do is cut down on plastic bags. I always forget my reusable ones, but just another reminder to give it another try.
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