DAY 2 Zero Waste Challenge: Paper Towels
Scott Paper Company was founded by brothers E. Irvin and Clarence Scott in Philadelphia back in 1879. The company introduced paper towels for the first time in 1907. Details are uncertain, but it appears they might have been created as an expedient reuse of a rail car full of another paper product that was supposed to be used as toilet tissue, but was too thick for that purpose. Individual paper towels didn't go into regular mass production until 1922, and in 1931 rolls of paper towels were introduced for kitchen use.
Paper towels aren't recyclable in the traditional sense. They are mainly made from recycled paper pulp, a non-recyclable product.
Facts about paper towels:
-An average of 300 million tons of paper is produced each year. This means, when you finish reading this blogpost, another 285 tons of paper will have gone into production.
-The average American consumes more than 320 kilograms of paper each year.
-Paper accounts for 25 percent of waste in the landfill and 33 percent of municipal waste.
-About 68 million trees are cut down each year to produce paper and paper products.
There are tons of alternatives to paper towels, if you really wish to reduce waste, Here's what we've got for you:
Challenge:
We challenge you to swap your paper towels with rags or towels, from cleaning dishes to drying your hands, all this can be done without the use of paper.
A way for an easy transition is to cut up bigger kitchen towels & use them as paper towels. Keep a small bucket underneath the sink for the dirty ones. This way you can use them the same way as paper towels, only you can wash & reuse them.
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