Paper towels

I have a love/hate relationship with paper towels.  They are so convenient for cleaning messy things and then the dirty paper towel is thrown away.  The problem is that there is no “away”.  The used paper towels end up in a landfill, where they create methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) as they decompose.  Production of paper towels is not environmentally friendly, because it requires chemicals, lots of water and many process steps that require energy.  I have reduced my use of paper towels significantly, although I do still use some.  Here are some ideas:

• Many public restrooms provide paper towels.  If you shake the water off your hands before drying them, usually only one paper towel is required to dry your hands.  Try it with one towel before you reach for the second towel. 
• Some brands of paper towels package them as half sheets, so you can use a smaller piece.  I frequently tear the half sheets in half if that’s all I need.  Or you can create your own partial sheets by tearing the full sheets in half or into quarter sheets. 
• Use rags or cheap towels for your cleaning projects and then wash the rags or towels for reuse. 
• I keep a cloth towel at work for drying my lunch dishes instead of using the provided paper towels in the office kitchen. 
• Production of paper towels made from 100% recycled materials uses 40% less energy so look for recycled content.