CleanScapes Tip: take the paper towel challenge

Paper towels. They are convenient, easy-to-use and they add up to a surprising amount of waste in our landfills.

Paper towels and paper napkins have long replaced cloth napkins, kitchen towels and cleaning rags as the solution for any mess or cleanup project at home or on the go. But, do we really need to use them for everything?

Consider taking the CleanScapes Paper Towel Challenge. In the next 30 days, try reducing your paper towel use by 50% using these simple steps:

1. Set your baseline. Use the EcoConsumer Waste Calculator tool to find out how many paper towels your household uses in a week. Divide this number in half and that is your personal challenge goal!

2. Stock up on cloth napkins, sponges, reusable cleaning rags and cloth kitchen towels. Save money by purchasing napkins and towels second-hand at GoodWill or Deseret.

3. Move your paper towels out of sight – in the closet or cupboard, and reserve them for icky emergencies.

4. Recruit your roommates or other members of the household and encourage them to participate.

5. Swap! Set your table and pack your lunch with cloth napkins, use sponges and cloth rags for cleaning and use cloth hand towels in the kitchen.

6. Track your success. At the end of the month let CleanScapes know how you did:

• Did you meet or beat your goal?
• Do you plan to continue using reusable and washable napkins and towels?
• Did you learn something you would like to share?
• What’s your next challenge?

Resource: Growing a Green Family, Ditch Paper Towels in five years

The Big Picture

Paper towels are made from virgin wood pulp from trees, post-consumer recycled paper or a combination of both.

If every person living in King County used 70 paper towels a week, in one year all of those used paper towels would add up to 383,614 tons of waste - enough to fill 4,812 Boeing 747 airplanes!(1)

According to the National Resources Defense Council, if every household in the US replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 544,000 trees(2).

If you are going to keep paper towels on hand, consider shopping for towels made with recycled content.

Or, take paper towels off your shopping list. Swapping out single-use paper towels with reusable and washable cloth alternatives is an easy way to reduce waste, save money and conserve natural resources.

Reduce first. Reuse what you can, and then Recycle.

• Reduce, Reuse and Win! Do you live in Shoreline? Learn how you can help your community win the 2010/2011 Neighborhood Waste Reduction Rewards competition.

• Do you have a great idea or community waste reduction project?  Email the CleanScapes waste reduction team.