24th November 2017
Last update: 29/5/2019
Recent research by the Forest ethics has highlighted Australia's unenviable crown as the largest consumer of paper products per capita in the world. North America is always portrayed as the most wasteful consumerist nation on earth and of course their total contribution is far more significant, however Australia should not hide behind its relatively small population.
Australia's paper usage per head is 223kg, The US and Canada used on average 229kg of paper per capita annually, Western Europe got through 178.7 kilograms, Latin America 43.02, Asia 41 and Africa 7.51 kilograms per person.
There is just so much that can be done about this problem. If we start with paper towel consumption. The average worker will attend the washroom 4.5 times a day and use 3 paper towels each time, thats 3510 paper towels per person, per annum just in work time, never mind those used in the restaurant or pub after work.
An office with 50 people will consume a whopping 175,500 towels per year. Thats 7 virgin trees a year.
Dyson have calculated the lifecycle of a paper towel though chopping down trees, processing and production, transportation and disposal is 15 grams per towel. So in this example, the office will generate 2925 Kg/C02 from paper towels per annum. The cost of the paper alone based on AUD$72 for 2400 towels would be AUD$5265.
Just by changing to energy efficient hand dryers, like the Dryflow Turboforce Junior Plus that consumes 2.5 watt/hours per dry, the footprint would be reduced to 87 kg/Co2 and cost just AUD$40.95 in electricity (based on 28 cents per Kwh).
This is a massive cost saving of AUD$5224 and will free up staff time, reduce the chance of blocked drains and make a positive impact of Australia's paper wastage. Time for a nationwide campaign I think!
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To find out more about this simple cost and environment saving measure please contact us now or dial 1300 HANDDRY
Read more at:
http://ozscience.com/environmental-science/paper-consumption-impact-in-australia/