Can You Recycle Paper Towels? - Get New Recycling Tips

Many people use paper towels and probably thinking about what to do next with those fragile papers. After they served their intended purpose, a part of you wonder, can you recycle paper towels? Paper towels are used to wipe up grease, food wastes, and body fluids compared to other paper products. These things do not easily leash out during the recycling process and take some time before further use. To help you better understand the topic, this article discusses how to recycle paper towels properly. So keep on reading.
Can You Recycle Paper Towels
Using paper towels is a fast and simple way to clean up spills or dry hands. While most used paper towels go directly into the garbage and landfills, you might ask yourself if can you recycle paper towels. These household items are produced of thin materials, and bacteria from cleaning up messes are also found in used paper towels, making them hard to dispose of.
The easiest way to reduce paper towel waste is through composting. The mechanism counteracts any contaminants, disintegrates the paper fibers, and produces fertile gardening mulch. Many cities and states provide curbside waste disposal if you do not want to manage a compost pile in your garden.
While paper towels and napkins are produced from paper, there are several factors why your one-time used paper should not be recycled. These materials may have come into contact with food waste, oil, and probably body fluids, so they may be health risks.
How To Dispose of Paper Towels Properly
Whether they contain grease, sticky wastes, or chemicals, you may want to dispose of your paper towels. You can’t recycle or compost them immediately, so can you recycle paper towels. You just have to throw them in the waste disposal garbage can. Another way to dispose of them properly is to pick and place them in a bag before throwing them in the trash bin. Ensure that the bag is slightly tied and put in the trash can.
You can also set a garbage collection schedule as a reminder. Remove your bin and put it in a visible place. Make sure it is far away from your car or any other obstacles.
Ways to Dispose of Paper Towels
- Composting
Find a bin of compost. There may be plastic containers, metal containers, or wooden boxes that are recycled; they all match up well for composting.
Tear the paper towels into 3 inches and then apply 6 inches layer of organic brown components such as twigs, branches, and fallen leaves. Cover it with green organic products, such as vegetable scraps, coffee filters, dried leaves, and tea bags.
The layers should be moistened with water, then covered with a small amount of normal soil. Add more levels and water as required to produce equivalent quantities of carbon and nitrogen, contrasting between green and brown. - Waste Collection Service
To decide if your neighborhood has a yard waste or food recycling program, call a skilled waste management service, or contact your local federal office.
Ask if a dedicated storage bin comes with the unit. While such bins may not be free, recycling bins are offered at a discount in some cities. Find out for your household, which food container is best suited. You can use cloth bags or 100% compostable garbage bags, along with your paper towels.
Move paper towels and food wastes to your backyard bin, and try to set up your bin on set breaks of pickup.
How Can Paper Towels Use Affect Environment
Paper towel manufacturing will harm the environment. It is imperative to understand and ask yourself, can you recycle paper towels. It takes items like trees, chemicals, wood, water, and electricity to manufacture paper towels. Although production causes many problems, such as pollution and the decline of natural resources, the management of these towels is also a problem. The largest amount of waste products in the United States is paper and cardboard waste. Paper towels are a major contributor, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Americans account for almost half of the world’s use of paper towels, investing over a billion dollars. There are more viable and less costly options, including:
- Beeswax Food Wraps
- Cotton Kitchen Cloths
- Huck Towels
- Linen Or Cotton Bowl Covers
- Linen Bread Bags
- Linen Cocktail Napkins
- Sponges
Microfiber Cloths
Staying on hand for food drops and clutters is one of the most common applications for paper towels. Microfiber cloths can be a perfect solution to your kitchen cleaning. That’s because their small fibers help improve absorbency, and they clean much better than paper towels in many cases. Best of all, these eco-friendly solutions are also reasonably cheap, costing about $10.
Eco-Friendly Paper Towels
There are even more environmentally paper towels, including those made from 100 percent recycled materials. These kinds of paper towels do not increase pollution problems. But the paper dyes, skincare products, and inks may contribute to pollution. The EPA also states that it takes about 40 percent less energy to manufacture recycled paper towels, potentially reducing carbon footprint by almost half.
Conclusion
Can you recycle paper towels? Although some things, such as paper towels, can take just a few weeks to break down, some products we discard can take some time to degrade. Sadly, we keep running out of landfill space in the U.S. By eliminating solid waste as much as possible and recycling products that have the opportunity to be decomposed and recycled can help the environment greatly. You should do your share. Learn more about recycling paper towels and tips here.