Paper Towel Reduction Pilot

This pilot has now concluded, as of October 2025. Its results will be reviewed during the 2025-2026 academic year — analyzing the pilot’s effectiveness, feasibility, impact, and inclusivity — and include recommendations for future action.

This initiative launched in summer 2025 and was led by the Student Leadership Subcommittee of CECCS in partnership with the Caretaking team in Facilities & Services.

The content below has been prepared by the subcommittee for informational purposes and reference.

WHAT’S ON THIS PAGE

Why the Pilot Reduced Paper Towels

Paper towels may seem harmless, but their environmental impact is significant. Used once and discarded, they contribute to carbon dioxide emissions which accelerates climate change. Paper towels can’t be recycled due to short fibers and contamination and composting them at scale isn’t feasible. By reducing paper towel use, we’re taking a meaningful step toward lowering emissions and conserving resources. 

Submit Your Feedback

The pilot has concluded as of October 2025 and feedback is now closed.

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A Smarter, More Sustainable Choice

Every product we use has a footprint—from production to disposal. Paper towels consume energy, water, and raw materials, only to end up as waste. Switching to reusable alternatives like hand dryers supports U of T’s sustainability goals and helps build a cleaner, climate-conscious campus. 

WHO and CDC: Hand Dryers Are a Safe, Effective Way to Dry Hands

Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirm that hand dryers are just as effective as paper towels when it comes to hygiene.

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Hand Washing Best Practices

To effectively wash your hands and help prevent the spread of germs, start by wetting your hands with clean water, then apply soap and lather thoroughly, making sure to wash the backs of your hands, between fingers, and under nails. Scrub for at least 20 seconds, then rinse well and fully dry with a clean cloth or air dryer. For more information, visit CDC Hand Hygiene FAQs. 

Take the Initiative Home

We encourage you to adopt sustainable practices in your personal spaces as well. Opting for reusable cloth towels, handkerchiefs, old/worn-out t-shirts, or other rags significantly helps reduce waste while conserving the energy used throughout the paper towel lifecycle. Additionally, unlike single-use paper towels which require constant repurchasing, reusable alternatives are more durable, cost-effective, and long-lasting, making them a practical and eco-friendly choice. Simple swaps like these contribute to a healthier planet for all. 

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Debunking Myths: FAQs About Hand Dryers

The following questions and answers have been developed by the Student Leadership Subcommittee.

Are hand dryers really better for the environment than paper towels?

Life cycle assessments, accounting for the energy mix of the grid, suggest that energy-efficient hand dryers offer a significant reduction in environmental impact compared to single-use paper towels. (Joseph et al, 2015). This is particularly the case in Ontario, where 91% of electricity was produced from zero-carbon sources in 2021, making the use of hand dryers even more sustainable than paper towels.

Why can’t paper towels be recycled?

Contrary to common belief, paper towels cannot be recycled due to their manufacturing process and the high likelihood of contamination. Paper towels are created from a blend of cardboard, wood, and other paper by-products that are processed into a pulp, making the fibers too short to be remade into new paper. This, coupled with chemical additives in production and residues from uses such as cleaning up spills, makes them unsuitable for the recycling process

Why can’t paper towels be composted?

To be composted, paper towels need to be mixed with food waste and other wet, compostable material. Since such large amounts of paper towel waste is produced on campus, this option is not currently feasible. Furthermore, composting does not address the emissions association with the entire lifecycle of paper towel production, transportation, and disposal. Reducing the paper towels used is the best option.  

Are hand dryers less hygienic than paper towels?

According to guidance from the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) issued in 2024, there is not sufficient scientific evidence on whether one method is better than the other at reducing germs. Germs spread more easily when hands are wet, so the key is to make sure your hands are completely dry after thorough washing, and both hand dryers and paper towels are effective ways to dry your hands.  Studies conducted by the University of Arizona (University of Arizona Health Sciences, 2020), the Mayo Clinic (Gustafson et al, 2000) and Reynolds et al. 2021 have shown there is no statistically significant difference in terms of what method of hand drying is more hygienic.

Do hand dryers blast bacteria and viruses into the air, making the air quality in washrooms unhealthy?

While jet-air and warm-air dryers can push small amounts of residual droplets and microbes into the surrounding air, there is no evidence that this translates into actual disease spread when adequate hand-washing, cleaning, and ventilation are in place. A systematic review of 38 field, laboratory, and outbreak investigations found “no evidence of airborne transition of enteric or respiratory pathogens, including COVID-19, in public washrooms” (Vardoulakis et al., 2022).   

References  

  1. Corry Davis, A. Y. (2021, March 10). Can you recycle paper towels? Treehugger.
  2. Goforth MP, Boone SA, Clark J, Valenzuela PB, McKinney J, Ijaz MK, Gerba CP. Impacts of lid closure during toilet flushing and of toilet bowl cleaning on viral contamination of surfaces in United States restrooms. Am J Infect Control. 2023 Dec 11:S0196-6553(23)00820-9.
  3. Gustafson, D. R., Vetter, E. A., Larson, D. R., Ilstrup, D. M., Maker, M. D., Thompson, R. L., & Cockerill III, F. R. (2000, July). Effects of 4 hand-drying methods for removing bacteria from washed hands: a randomized trial. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 75, No. 7, pp. 705-708). Elsevier.  
  4. Joseph, B., Baah, K., Jahanfar, A., & Dubey, B. (2015). A comparative life cycle assessment of conventional hand dryer and roll paper towel as hand drying methods. Science of the Total Environment, 515-516, 109–117. 
  5. Reynolds, K. A., Sexton, J. D., Norman, A., & McClelland, D. J. (2021). Comparison of electric hand dryers and paper towels for hand hygiene: a critical review of the literature. Journal of applied microbiology, 130(1), 25-39. 
  6. University of Arizona Health Sciences. (2020, September 8). Paper towels vs. air hand dryers: UArizona Health Sciences researchers evaluate effectiveness of both hand-drying methods.
  7. Vardoulakis, Sotiris, Daniela A. Espinoza Oyarce, and Erica Donner. Transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in public washrooms: A systematic review. Science of The Total Environment 803 (2022): 149932.