Paper Towel Systems—Part of a Green Building

Many of today's paper towel systems, both the dispenser and the paper itself, have been designed with green building goals in mind, and can contribute to a facility's sustainability on a number of levels. Architects should consider both the paper quality and dispensing system when ensuring the best reduction of waste and germs. These help green buildings reduce their paper usage and ensure the building is a healthy, productive space.

LEED Credits

With the advancement of the green building movements have come green rating systems that quantify and credit sustainable materials and processes. The best known and most frequently deployed of these rating systems is the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED® rating system, now its fourth version. Under LEED v4 paper towel can contribute to a building earning up to two points toward LEED EB: OM certification.

Contributions are possible in the following categories:

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Green Cleaning Products and Materials. Credit can be earned for purchase of green cleaning materials and products such as floor finishes and strippers, disposable janitorial paper products, and trash bags. These include items used by in-house staff or outsourced service providers. These purchases must represent at least 75 percent, by cost, of the total annual purchases of these products that meet at least one of several standards, including those of the U.S. EPA, Green Seal, Environmental Choice, among others.

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Ongoing Consumables. Credit can be earned for purchases that represent at least 60 percent, by cost, of total ongoing consumables that meet at least one of the following criteria.

• Postconsumer recycled content. The content of purchases must meet or exceed the levels listed in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines. Products not covered by the Guidelines can get credit for their recycled content with no minimum.

• Paper and wood products. Paper and wood products must be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® or USGBC-approved equivalent.

As there may be misinformation concerning the ability to accrue additional points for towel and tissue products, it is advisable to work closely with a LEED auditor and the USGBC to assure proper guidance.

Cutting Costs

Paper towels come in a few basic varieties: bleached; semi-bleached or natural; and unbleached or brown, all of which can be delivered in a roll or in folded form. In writing a manual for government purchases, California recycling specialists found that “People use more folded towels than roll varieties for a number of reasons. They pull folded towels out of dispensers by the handful, they rarely unfold towels before using them, and they take towels to their desks to mop up spills.” Dispensers control the amount of paper for roll towels and they are not as wide as folded towels so less paper is used per handwipe. Changing from folded towels to roll towels can produce a 25 to 35 percent reduction in toweling costs, over and above savings in packaging, cost, and labor. Roll towels are not required to be replaced as frequently as folded towels, and have faster production times as cutting, folding, and some packaging operations are unnecessary. The consultants found that dispensers that hold 800-foot rolls as well as stub rolls (partially used rolls) are the most cost-effective in maintenance terms.¹³

Responsible Paper Sourcing and Alternative Fibers

Forests and trees are essential to life. Trees clean the air, purify water and control erosion, and help maintain biodiversity by supporting plant and wildlife species. More than 1.6 billion people worldwide depend directly on natural forests for food, clothing, shelter, and traditional medicine. A well-managed forest will benefit wildlife and neighboring communities for generations. But nearly half of the earth's original forest cover is gone, much of it destroyed within the past three decades. As global demand for the world's resources increases, sourcing alternative fibers becomes critically important. Manufacturers are adopting sourcing programs that use a large amount of recycled fiber content, and using virgin fiber only from suppliers that are certified to recognized, credible forest management certification systems. Incorporating natural, non-tree fibers, such as bamboo and wheat straw, is another option that has been deployed to achieve sustainable paper products. In addition, using these products in a roll towel format that is in a controlled, hands-free dispense is optimal for furthering sustainability and health.

Minimizing Noise

In contrast to air dryers, particularly some of the newer models, the paper towel dispensing system is virtually silent. Some of the decibel levels of the high-velocity models can be worrisome in their effects on human health and safety. A recent study, for example, found that it is clear that having hands within the stream of the high-velocity airflow of the hand dryer creates significantly higher sound levels than with no hands in the air stream. Because hands are intended to be in the airflow when the device is used, the noise level that users will typically experience varies between the 95 dBA and 100 dBA, a level considered very loud and the equivalent to hearing a jet flyover at 1,000 feet away. Some of the higher-velocity dryers studied were loud enough to interfere not only with speech in the restroom, but in adjacent spaces as well.¹⁴

In another study, University of London scientists found that high-speed dryers can negatively impact certain vulnerable groups, including hearing aid users and the visually impaired, whose ability to navigate can be thwarted by loud noises. The same study found that the decibel level reached by the dryers was 11 times higher in a typical public toilet with corners and hard surfaces than in product testing laboratories.¹⁵ Architects should factor the differential in decibel level into their specifying decisions.

Reducing Consumption

Today's high-absorption towels, made possible by advanced air dried processes, can mean fewer towels are actually used to complete hand wiping or other tasks. This speaks to arguably the most valuable tenet of the reduce, reuse, recycle mantra: reduce. In terms of conservation of resources—both energy and material—the most sustainable option is unequivocally to reduce consumption, to make fewer materials. “Reduce” always scores the highest marks in terms of saving energy and materials; both reuse and recycle will require more energy and associated costs.

From Waste to Productive Use

With paper towel systems, a legitimate concern is the climatic and other environmental impacts they can have on the disposal side of the equation. Although paper towels are not recycled at most recycling plants because of equipment limitations, one emerging approach for effectively managing paper towel waste is composting.

As they break down easily and many brands are actually made of recycled fibers, and provided they contain no chemicals, pathogens, bodily fluids, or plastic linings, paper towels can be added to compost heaps. Many organizations are experimenting with composting their paper towels, in order to divert paper waste from landfills and turn it into a useful, organic material that can be used as a medium for plant cultivation. As part of its Zero Waste Policy, American University now composts paper towels from bathrooms campus wide. Other institutions including the University of Florida and Sustainable Berkeley Lab (SBL), one of the country's premier scientific research laboratories, are following suit, and other organizations are experimenting with the process. In a typical scenario, the University of Washington launched an 11-week-long restroom paper towel composting program in three of its high-traffic libraries to divert paper towels from the landfill in the spring of 2013. All 63 restrooms were converted to paper towel composting, with large trash receptacles relined with compostable bags and designated for paper towels only; a smaller trash receptacle was reserved for landfill items. By the time the pilot project concluded, nearly 8 tons of paper towels had been diverted from the landfill. The pilot program's paper towel composting effort is now expanding to more buildings on campus to help the university reach its goal of 70 percent waste diversion by 2020.

Specification Considerations

Because restrooms are not a revenue-producing aspect of any establishment, facility managers will want the most sanitary conditions and at the least cost, and designers of public restrooms may find themselves in a balancing act between these two goals. Good restroom design incorporates efficient layout and high-quality fixtures and accessories, and that is a function of the size of the space and type of facility, with the objective being to match the right quantity of items to the numbers of people that are anticipated to use the restrooms. Many aspects of restrooms, such as number of fixtures and their placement, are regulated by building code, which will vary according to jurisdiction. Public restrooms are required to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), too. Often, however, architects will exceed code requirements where it makes sense to create safer, more comfortable restroom facilities.

ADA Requirements and Universal Design

Standards are in place to guide architects in designing safe facilities that are comfortable for the maximum number of users. The passage of the ADA made it a matter of law that public facilities and services be fully accessible to people with disabilities. Developed by The Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University, universal design is a broader concept. The Center defines it as “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” Think of doors that open automatically as a person moves toward them, for example. Universal design benefits not only people with disabilities, but strives for accessibility among by all user groups and considers such characteristics as age, gender, stature, race/ethnicity, culture, native language, and learning preference. While the ADA outlines the bare minimum necessary in order not to discriminate against people with disabilities, universal design is about best practices, which are always evolving and improving as more is learned about how to best meet the needs of various subgroups in the population.

Placement and Mounting Heights

For those with disabilities, restrooms can be difficult to navigate, especially for those in a wheel chair who often have to contend with items that are placed out of reach. Touch-free dispensers, battery operated or not, allow those with disabilities to more readily obtain towels. The ADA has requirements for proper placement of the towel dispenser to assure that it is low enough to the ground and not too far back behind a sink for use by disabled persons. There are specific height and space requirements for towel dispensers that are designed for people to approach it head on or come in parallel to the unit. To meet the criteria established by the act, paper towel dispensers should be installed a minimum of 15 inches or a maximum of 48 inches off the floor for forward-reaching range, or a minimum of 9 inches or maximum of 54 inches for those reaching from the side. Clear floor space of 30 inches by 48 inches is required in the approach to the dispenser. Further, ADAAG Section 309.4 states that: “Operable parts shall be operable with one hand and shall not require tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist. The force required to activate operable parts shall be no greater than 5 pounds (22.2 N) maximum.”

Capacity and Layout

Good restroom design depends on a thorough understanding of the populations to be served. A large hotel will not have the same requirements as a K-8 school, nor will the needs of a high-traffic arena be the same as a those of a medical practice. How many and what type of users are expected? Will there by extensive use by handicapped or medial patients or other physically challenged user groups? Does expected traffic include a large number of elderly or children of stroller age? Positive answers to these questions may warrant exceeding code prescriptions on placement and number of fixtures. How often will the various populations use the facility on an hourly, daily, weekly, or other basis? Will there be peak usage periods, such as in a movie theater or arena? Answers to these questions will not only determine the optimum restroom size and layout, but also the number of restroom fixtures and supporting equipment as well as their optimum location. While the ADA and local building and plumbing codes stipulate many of these parameters, sometimes it is a matter of common sense to exceed code. Case in point is the distance between sink and towel dispenser, and even towel dispenser and waste receptacle. It is inconvenient for users who have just washed their hands to walk a distance to dry them. They may drip water on the floor or on their clothes; this may be especially irksome for a wheelchair user who may have to roll the chair wheels in order to reach the towel dispenser. It is advisable to minimize the distance between sink and towel dispenser and towel dispenser and waste receptacle to avoid water dripping on the floor, not only as a matter of individual comfort, but because of the associated consequences in hygiene, safety, and maintenance caused by wet restroom floors.

Hand and Face Drying: A Key Consideration for Public Health

As viruses tend to remain on hard surfaces for hours or even days, and even a simple handshake can spread germs exponentially, measures to prevent illness are critical. The CDC has long expounded on the fact that hand washing is an important component in keeping healthy and research indicates that hand drying effectively completes the process. While seemingly a simple act, drying hands has important public health implications. In specifying the appropriate approach to drying hands, next-generation paper towel dispensing systems offer architects a sleek, contemporary option that is fast, thorough, hygienic, user preferred, and comes with a number of environmental advantages.

 

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