Paper Towels Are Not Great for the Environment: Use This Instead
Pssssst. I have a dirty little secret. I don’t use paper towels at home. I only use reusable cloth towels. Not only for cleaning, but for all things messy.
The story goes something like this: a guest comes over and makes a food mess in the kitchen while I’m in the other room. I then proceed to hear a panicked wail from the other room: ”Lora, where are the paper towels?!”
I glide into the kitchen, open my towel drawer in one swift motion, and exclaim - “use these!”. At times, I'm met with disbelief and bewilderment. Others share a camaraderie for this eco friendly approach. For some, a lightbulb goes off and I get a “tell me more…” inquiry. I end up chatting their ear off for a good 10 minutes about the importance of reusable towels.
While eco friendly products are important, I’d like to address how eco friendly cleaning tools are of equal importance.
Let’s start by understanding how bad paper towels are for the environment. In one study done by Ocean Conservancy:
In the US alone, 13 billion pounds of paper towels are used each year.
According to the EPA, paper makes up the largest share of municipal waste in the US.
Paper towels aren’t recyclable in the traditional sense. Paper towels are often made from recycled paper pulp – a non-recyclable product.
Ok. So paper towels are bad for the environment. Now, the next argument I hear is that paper towels make cleaning easier. This is a myth. This boils down to preference and familiarity of habit vs. having a reusable towel system that works for you. Here are my top 3 tips on reusable towels:
