3 Keys to Commercial Restroom Design: Safety, Sustainability, and Savings
Savings Case Study: Gillette Stadium
Photo courtesy of Excel Dryer
High-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers at Gillette Stadium are better for the environment, are preferred by users, and save money.
The New England Patriots have created a green dynasty at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. In addition to being the hallowed home of the New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium is a world-class entertainment facility that hosts everything from international soccer matches to concerts by Jay Z, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Kenny Chesney. During what they call a full-stadium event, nearly 70,000 people crowd the stands—and they use the restrooms.
Since 2009, Gillette Stadium has used high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers to cut costs, meet sustainability goals, promote restroom hygiene, and improve the guest experience. “The (HSEE hand dryer) is a win-win-win-win for us,” says Jim Nolan, Chief Operating Officer. “First, it’s better for the environment. Second, we are saving money while our staff is spending less time cleaning paper off the floor and refilling dispensers. Third, the staff is freed up to respond more quickly to fan issues. Fourth, and most important, fans prefer it to paper, giving them a better experience.”
Equipped initially with paper towel dispensers, the stadium used an average of 6,264,000 paper towels annually, costing more than $50,000 for paper, maintenance, and waste removal. In September 2009, Gillette installed more than 125 HSEE hand dryers featuring exclusive, custom digital imaging cover technology throughout Gillette Stadium. Doing the math means 125 HSEE hand dryers do the work of 6 million paper towels annually. “The hand dryers reduce the cost and maintenance associated with paper towels in the stadium’s restrooms,” Nolan says.
The hand dryers represent a 95 percent cost savings compared to paper towels, eliminating their associated labor, maintenance, and waste. The HSEE hand dryers in the stadium are Made USA Certified with a dry time of eight seconds and use 80 percent less energy than conventional hand dryers. Dry time and energy use tests were performed by SGS International on standard HSEE hand dryers with a 0.8-inch nozzle to 0.25g or less of residual moisture, pursuant to the UL Environment Global Product Category Rules (PCR) for Hand Dryers.10
The dryers are BuildingGreen Approved and help facilities qualify for the most LEED credits. “We want to make sure our operations are as efficient as possible,” says Jason Stone, Senior Director of Operations. “Having the (HSEE hand dryers), we’re able to be more efficient in the bathrooms and provide our customers with a great experience.”
OPPORTUNITIES FOR COST SAVINGS WHEN DESIGNING COMMERCIAL RESTROOMS
Sustainability will be a hard sell for developers if profits are negatively affected. The ideal scenario ties sustainable products and systems to long-term cost savings.
Water
Many of the sustainability techniques covered in the last section translate directly into monetary savings. For example, saving water saves money. Water costs and wastewater fees have risen faster than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the previous two decades.12 This makes saving water more important than ever.
Energy
Similarly, saving energy saves money. According to one analysis, the average energy cost for commercial buildings is $2.10 per square foot.13 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calculates that 30 percent of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted. Less waste means more profits.14
Materials Durability
While not as immediate as water and energy savings, considering the durability of materials can pay off in the long term. The more often materials are replaced, the higher the cost.
Ongoing Costs of Consumables
Ongoing consumables refer to materials that are regularly used and replaced throughout the course of doing business. Commercial restrooms contain several ongoing consumables: toilet paper, seat covers, sanitary products, trash bag liners, and in some cases, paper towels. The cost of ongoing consumables adds up as items must be continually restocked. When the cost of a single case of paper towels is considered, along with delivery, freight, tax, and handling charges, it becomes clear why switching to high-speed energy efficient hand dryers and eliminating paper towels offers a significant cost savings opportunity.
Waste Hauling
The next consideration is what happens to all those ongoing consumables after use. Of course, they are thrown away. Waste hauling is a significant cost in operating a commercial building. Depending on the area of the country, disposal costs can range from $20 per ton to more than $100 per ton. This is another area where eliminating paper towels can save money by reducing the waste that needs disposal.
Maintenance Costs
Finally, maintenance costs in commercial restrooms should be considered. We learned earlier that commercial restrooms play an outsized role in soil level and occupant complaints. These relate to the maintenance of those restrooms. When making design decisions, it's essential to consider their impact on ease of cleaning and maintenance. When facility staff must spend time on clogged plumbing systems, for example, when a user flushes paper towels, the staff is diverted from other vital tasks, like sanitizing high-touch surfaces.
Labor Costs
Labor costs should be factored in when considering commercial restroom maintenance. Anecdotally speaking, an overflowing trash receptacle is a blatant sign of maintenance shortcomings. And because of behavior changes post-pandemic, building occupants and patrons are washing their hands more frequently. Consequently, discarded paper towels add up. But trouble ensues when the need for more frequent restroom cleaning butts up against a labor shortage. In some cases, there is inadequate labor to accommodate "the paper cycle," leading to empty dispensers, full trashcans, and bad patron experiences.
CONCLUSION
The design of commercial restrooms impacts the functionality of the building and user perception. Emphasis needs to be on safety, sustainability, and savings. Especially post-pandemic, there is more hand-washing and more use of commercial restrooms. To minimize touchpoints where infectious diseases can be spread, facilities have been upgraded to include touchless toilet flushers, faucets, soap dispensers, and high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers. Eliminating paper towels and the associated waste can help the bottom line. Giving the users of commercial restrooms a trouble-free and sanitary experience is more important than ever.
Case Study: At Grand Central Terminal in New York City, Paper Towels have left the Station
Photo courtesy of Excel Dryer
Steve Stroh, now-retired assistant deputy director of electrical and mechanical maintenance at Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
Photo courtesy of Excel Dryer
Hand dryers at Grand Central Terminal in New York City represent a 95 percent cost savings compared to paper towels.
With more than 750,000 daily visitors, New York City's iconic Grand Central Terminal is like a small city within the greatest city in the world. It has 44 train platforms, 68 shops, and 35 restaurants across its 48 acres. Plus, it has 48 high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers keeping its restrooms clean and green. One thing you won't find? Paper towels.
With its facility-wide focus on energy efficiency and sustainability goals such as LEED certification, Grand Central has proven that historic buildings can still be on the cutting edge of green technology.Steve Stroh, now-retired assistant deputy director of electrical and mechanical maintenance and 30-year Grand Central Terminal employee, was instrumental in the facility's forward-thinking initiatives. "Everything we do, we must look at with sustainability in mind," Stroh says. "We've made a number of upgrades to Grand Central over the years, including updating the electrical, plumbing, and lighting systems led by our sustainability team. Let me put it this way: we changed every light bulb in the place. And there are 60,000 of them."
Stroh sought sustainable products for the new bathroom construction and renovation, including high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers, which replaced paper towels and conventional hand dryers in the terminal's facilities. Stroh recalls the first time he encountered these cutting-edge hand dryers. "I was on a fishing trip with my boss when I experienced (the high-quality hand dryer) for the first time at a rest stop," Stroh says. "I remember thinking, 'Those jet dryers really worked.' They were heavy-duty. We thought if they could hold up to the abuse of a public rest area, they would be a great option for Grand Central. We dug around and researched (the brand) and saw that it also had a lot of green certifications."
The particular hand dryer Stroh's team specified is the only hand dryer in the industry with a dry time of 8 seconds, tested to guidelines from the Global Hand Dryer PCR published by UL Environment. It represents a 95 percent cost savings compared to paper towels, eliminating associated labor, maintenance, and waste. And it uses 80 percent less energy than conventional hand dryers.
"Paper towels typically end up in the toilets and plugging up sewer systems," says Stroh. "With (these HSEE hand dryers), we don't have to worry about paper towels ending up outside the garbage cans or plugging up our sewers. It's eliminated the need for paper towels in our restrooms." The (hand dryers') sensor-activated technology reduces touch points and significantly improves hand hygiene. "Visitors don't want to touch something that hundreds of other people have touched," Stroh says.
Eliminating paper towel waste also provides environmental benefits. A peer-reviewed (ISO 14040 standards) Life Cycle Assessment of (the hand dryers) confirmed it reduces the carbon footprint of hand drying by 50 percent to 75 percent compared to both traditional hand dryers and even paper towels made from 100 percent recycled paper.
END NOTES
1Kovacs, Steve. “Best Practices to Establish an Effective Restroom Sanitation Program.” Blog post. P&G Professional. 2020. Web. 10 May 2023.
2“Public Restroom Design Issues.” American Restroom Association. Web. Accessed 10 May 2023.
3“Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: Mythbusters." World Health Organization. 19 January 2022. Web. 18 May 2023.
4“Paper Towels vs. Air Hand Dryers: UArizona Health Sciences Researchers Evaluate Effectiveness of Both Hand-Drying Methods.” The University of Arizona Health Services. 8 September 2020. Web. Accessed 18 May 2023.
5Reynolds, K.A., Sexton, J.D., Norman, A. and McClelland, D.J. (2021). “Comparison of electric hand dryers and paper towels for hand hygiene: a critical review of the literature.” J. Appl. Microbiol., 130: 25-39. Web. Accessed 18 May 2023.
6“Ventilation in Buildings.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated 12 May 2023. Web. Accessed 18 May 2023.
7“99.999% Removal of Viruses from the Air Stream: Based on testing performed by LMS Technologies, 2020.” Excel Dryer. Web. Accessed 18 May 2023.
8“Best Management Practices for Commercial and Industrial Facilities.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed Web. 18 May 2023.
9“The Issue with Tissue 2021 Scorecard.” Natural Resources Defense Council. September 2021. Web. Accessed 18 May 2023.
10 “U.L. Environment PCR—Hand Dryers.” Excel Dryer. Web. Accessed 18 May 2023.
11Gendron LM, Trudel L, Moineau S, Duchaine C. “Evaluation of bacterial contaminants found on unused paper towels and possible post contamination after handwashing: a pilot study.” Am J Infect Control. March 2012. Web. Accessed 18 May 2023.
12“NACWA Cost of Clean Water Index.” The National Association of Clean Water Agencies. 2018. Web. Accessed 18 May 2023.
13“What Is the Average Utility Cost per Square Foot of Commercial Property?” Iota Communications. 23 July 2020. Web. Accessed 18 May 2023.
14“About the Commercial Buildings Integration Program.” Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. U.S. Dept. of Energy. Web. Accessed 18 May 2023.
Kathy Price-Robinson is a nationally known remodeling and construction writer. Her award-winning remodeling series titled Pardon Our Dust ran 12 years in the Los Angeles Times.