Can Paper Towels Be Composted? | NZ Business Guide
Can Used Paper Towels Be Composted?
Paper towels are used every day in commercial washrooms, offices, schools, hospitality businesses and other workplaces throughout New Zealand.
For organisations trying to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill, this raises an obvious question:
Can used paper towels be composted?
The answer is potentially yes – but there are some important things to consider.
The paper towel itself needs to be suitable for composting, what it has been used for matters, and your composting or waste provider needs to accept used paper towels.
Most importantly, buying a compostable paper towel doesn't automatically mean it will actually be composted.
Here's what businesses need to know.
Are Paper Towels Compostable?
Some paper towels are specifically designed to be compostable.
Hygiene Direct's HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towels, for example, are made from recycled kraft paper and provide businesses with a compostable commercial hand towel option.
However, you shouldn't assume that every paper towel can simply be put into a composting system.
Different paper products can contain different fibres, additives, coatings and other materials.
If composting is part of your organisation's waste strategy, check that the particular towel you're purchasing is suitable for that purpose.
Does Compostable Mean It Will Automatically Break Down?
This is where the terminology can become confusing.
Compostable describes a characteristic of the product – not what actually happens to it after use.
A compostable paper towel placed in a general rubbish bin is likely to follow the same waste collection route as everything else in that bin.
For the compostable characteristic to be useful, the towel needs to enter an appropriate composting waste stream.
This means businesses should consider the entire process:
Purchase → Use → Collection → Separation → Composting
Changing the paper towel without considering what happens after use only addresses one part of the system.
Can Used Hand-Drying Towels Be Composted?
Potentially.
Paper towels that have simply been used for drying clean hands may be suitable for an appropriate composting programme if the towel itself is compostable and the composting provider accepts it.
However, what the towel has been used for is important.
A paper towel used to dry washed hands is very different from a paper towel used to wipe up a chemical, oil or another contaminant.
Businesses shouldn't assume that every used towel can go into the same composting stream simply because the original towel was compostable.
What Paper Towels Shouldn't Go Into Compost?
Contamination is one of the most important considerations.
A compostable paper towel may no longer be suitable for a particular composting stream if it has been used to clean up substances that the composting provider doesn't accept.
Examples could include towels contaminated with:
- Cleaning chemicals
- Solvents
- Oils
- Paint
- Other industrial substances
- Materials prohibited by the composting provider
The appropriate disposal method will depend on what the towel has been used for and the requirements of the waste provider.
This is particularly relevant in commercial workplaces because paper towels may be used for much more than simply drying hands.
Check With Your Composting Provider
If your business wants to compost used paper towels, one of the most important steps is to talk to your composting or waste collection provider first.
Ask them:
- Do you accept used paper hand towels?
- Are there particular types of paper towel you accept?
- What contamination restrictions apply?
- How should the towels be collected?
- Do they need a separate waste bin?
- Are there other compostable washroom products that can go into the same collection?
Requirements can differ between waste and composting services, so checking first can prevent contamination of the composting stream.
How Could Paper Towel Composting Work in a Commercial Washroom?
If your waste provider accepts used hand-drying towels, the system can be relatively straightforward.
Instead of putting a general waste bin beside the paper towel dispenser, the business could provide an appropriately identified collection bin for acceptable used paper towels.
Clear signage is important.
Users need to understand what can and cannot go into the bin.
Otherwise, food packaging, plastics, general rubbish and other contamination can quickly undermine the system.
Staff and cleaners also need to know that the contents of the paper towel collection bin must remain separate from general waste.
The system only works if everyone understands what happens to the towels after they've been collected.
Why Does Waste Separation Matter?
Imagine a workplace changes to compostable paper towels but continues putting every used towel into its existing general waste bins.
The business has changed the product, but it hasn't changed the disposal process.
Now imagine the same workplace:
- Uses compostable paper towels
- Provides dedicated collection
- Clearly labels the bins
- Educates employees
- Keeps the waste stream separate
- Uses a provider that accepts the towels for composting
That's a much more complete approach.
Sustainable purchasing and sustainable waste management need to work together.
What If We Can't Compost Our Paper Towels?
That doesn't mean there is no value in reviewing the paper towels you purchase.
You can still consider factors such as:
- Recycled fibre
- Plastic-free packaging
- Efficient dispensing
- Reducing unnecessary consumption
- Carton quantities
- Alternative fibre sources
For example, the HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towel is made from recycled kraft paper and supplied with plastic-free packaging.
Those characteristics exist independently of whether your workplace currently has access to a suitable composting service.
Recycled Paper and Compostability Aren't the Same Thing
It's also useful to distinguish between recycled and compostable.
They describe different characteristics.
A recycled paper towel refers to the material used to manufacture the product.
A compostable paper towel refers to an available end-of-life pathway under suitable conditions.
Hygiene Direct's HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towel combines the two: it is made from recycled kraft paper and is also designed as a compostable paper towel.
For more information on recycled fibre, see Recycled vs Virgin Paper Towels: Which Is Better for Your Workplace?
Don't Forget About Packaging
Another waste stream exists before anyone even uses the first towel: the packaging.
Commercial businesses can consume significant quantities of paper products over a year, meaning packaging from those products can accumulate too.
HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towels are supplied with plastic-free packaging, including paper tape on the outer carton.
Reducing unnecessary packaging entering the workplace in the first place can complement efforts to improve what happens to products after use.
We'll explore this further in Plastic-Free Paper Towels: How to Reduce Washroom Packaging Waste.
A More Sustainable Washroom Is a System
The biggest lesson from compostable paper towels is that sustainability rarely comes from changing one product alone.
A business can look at the complete washroom system:
What products are we buying?
What are they made from?
How are they packaged?
How much are we using?
What happens to them after use?
Looking at all five questions can reveal opportunities that simply changing from one paper towel to another might miss.
We'll cover the wider picture in How to Make Your Commercial Washroom More Sustainable.
HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towels
Hygiene Direct supplies HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towels for New Zealand businesses looking for a recycled commercial hand towel with a compostable end-of-life option where suitable facilities are available.
Features include:
- Made from recycled kraft paper
- Compostable
- Plastic-free packaging
- Paper tape used on the outer carton
- 1-ply construction
- Slimfold format
- 200 sheets per pack
- 20 packs per carton
- 4,000 sheets per carton
- Suitable for commercial and workplace washrooms
Shop HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towels
If you're reviewing your workplace paper products or looking at ways to reduce washroom waste, contact Hygiene Direct and we can help you consider the complete system.
Related Articles
- What Are Compostable Paper Towels? A Guide for NZ Businesses
- Recycled vs Virgin Paper Towels: Which Is Better for Your Workplace?
- How to Make Your Commercial Washroom More Sustainable
- Plastic-Free Paper Towels: How to Reduce Washroom Packaging Waste