How to Make a Commercial Washroom More Sustainable NZ
How to Make Your Commercial Washroom More Sustainable
Commercial washrooms can consume a surprising amount of paper, plastic packaging, soap and other consumables over the course of a year.
For businesses looking to improve their environmental performance, the washroom is therefore a practical place to start.
But creating a more sustainable commercial washroom doesn't necessarily mean replacing everything with products carrying the word "eco".
Often, the biggest improvements come from looking at the complete system:
What are you buying? How much are you using? How is it dispensed? How is it packaged? And what happens to it after use?
Here are some practical ways New Zealand businesses can reduce waste and make more considered washroom purchasing decisions.
1. Start With the Paper Products You Use Every Day
Toilet paper and paper hand towels are among the most frequently consumed products in a commercial washroom.
That makes them an obvious place to look for improvement.
Businesses now have a range of fibre options available, including:
- Recycled paper
- Bamboo-blend paper
- Virgin-fibre paper
- Compostable paper towel options
Rather than assuming one material is automatically the most sustainable choice, consider the complete product.
Look at the source of the fibre, packaging, performance, dispensing system and how much paper is actually required to do the job.
For example, Hygiene Direct's HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towels are made from recycled kraft paper and provide a compostable option where an appropriate composting system is available.
2. Consider Recycled Paper Towels
Using recycled paper towels is one way businesses can incorporate recycled materials into everyday purchasing.
Recycled paper uses fibre that has already had a previous life rather than relying entirely on new virgin fibre.
For workplaces consuming thousands of paper towels each year, this can make recycled paper worth considering as part of a broader sustainable procurement programme.
Hygiene Direct's HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towels combine recycled kraft paper with compostability and plastic-free packaging.
For a closer look at the fibre question, see Recycled vs Virgin Paper Towels: Which Is Better for Your Workplace?
3. Look Beyond Recycled Fibre
Recycled paper isn't the only option.
Alternative fibres such as bamboo give businesses another choice when selecting commercial washroom paper.
Hygiene Direct's Bamboo Paper range uses a blend of 60% bamboo and 40% wood fibre.
The range includes commercial toilet paper and paper towel options, giving businesses an alternative to both conventional virgin-fibre and recycled paper products.
The important point is choice.
Different workplaces have different priorities around performance, price, fibre source, packaging and dispensing, so there isn't necessarily one paper product that's right for every business.
4. Reduce Plastic Packaging
Sustainability isn't only about what is inside the carton.
Packaging matters too.
A commercial workplace can purchase dozens or hundreds of cartons of washroom paper products over time.
If every carton introduces unnecessary plastic wrapping into the workplace, that creates another waste stream before the paper has even been used.
Hygiene Direct has been working to reduce this through its Plastic Packaging Free paper range.
The HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towels are supplied without plastic packaging, including the use of paper tape on the outer carton.
We'll look at this subject in more detail in Plastic-Free Paper Towels: How to Reduce Washroom Packaging Waste.
5. Reduce How Much Paper Is Being Used
Changing the type of paper you purchase is useful.
Using less unnecessary paper can be even better.
Think about what happens in a busy washroom.
If someone reaches for a paper towel and pulls out a handful instead of one or two sheets, several towels may be wasted every time that happens.
Multiply that across dozens or hundreds of people, every working day, and unnecessary consumption can become significant.
A good dispensing system should make it easy for users to take an appropriate quantity.
The same principle applies to toilet paper.
Choosing the right paper and dispenser combination can help control consumption without compromising the user experience.
6. Choose the Right Dispenser System
Dispensers are an often-overlooked part of washroom sustainability.
A well-designed dispenser can help:
- Control paper presentation
- Reduce unnecessary consumption
- Protect consumables
- Make refilling easier
- Reduce wastage
- Improve the appearance of the washroom
Hygiene Direct also supplies Recycled Plastic Washroom Dispensers manufactured from post-consumer recycled plastic.
This gives businesses the opportunity to consider not only the consumables going through the dispenser, but the material used to manufacture the dispenser itself.
7. Consider Free-on-Loan Dispensers
Improving a washroom doesn't necessarily mean purchasing an entirely new set of dispensers upfront.
Hygiene Direct operates a Free Dispenser Programme for qualifying customers.
This allows businesses to use appropriate commercial washroom dispensers while purchasing the agreed consumables through Hygiene Direct.
It can also provide an opportunity to review whether the existing dispenser system is actually right for the workplace.
A change of paper alone may help, but matching the right paper to the right dispenser can have a much greater effect on consumption and waste.
8. Use Refillable Soap Dispensers
Paper isn't the only consumable worth reviewing.
Soap systems can also generate packaging waste.
Refillable commercial soap dispensers allow businesses to replenish the dispenser rather than replacing an entire small container each time the soap runs out.
Depending on the system used, this can reduce the amount of individual packaging required while providing a practical solution for high-use commercial washrooms.
Again, consumption matters.
A suitable dispenser should provide enough soap for effective hand washing without unnecessarily dispensing excessive quantities.
9. Think About What Happens After Use
A more sustainable washroom strategy shouldn't finish when the product reaches the rubbish bin.
Ask:
What happens to our waste after it leaves the washroom?
For paper towels, this might mean investigating whether an appropriate composting service is available.
A compostable paper towel only provides the opportunity for composting if it actually reaches a suitable composting system.
If it's placed into general waste, it will follow that waste stream instead.
Businesses considering paper towel composting should talk to their waste provider about what materials they accept and how they should be separated.
For more information, see Can Used Paper Towels Be Composted?
10. Make Waste Separation Easy
Even a well-designed waste programme can fail if it's too complicated for people to follow.
If you're introducing separate collection for compostable paper towels or other waste streams, make it obvious.
Use:
- Clearly labelled bins
- Simple signage
- Consistent bin placement
- Staff communication
- Clear instructions for cleaners
It's also important that separated waste remains separated after the bins are emptied.
There's little benefit in asking employees to carefully separate paper towels if the different waste streams are combined again during cleaning or collection.
11. Don't Replace Products Just for the Sake of It
Sustainability isn't about throwing away perfectly functional equipment because a newer environmental option has become available.
If an existing dispenser works well, controls consumption effectively and has years of useful life remaining, replacing it immediately may not make sense.
Instead, consider sustainability when equipment genuinely needs replacing or when the existing system is causing excessive consumption, waste or operational problems.
The goal should be practical improvement, not change for the sake of change.
12. Look at the Complete Washroom System
Perhaps the most useful approach is to stop thinking about individual products and start thinking about the washroom as a system.
Consider:
Paper: What is it made from?
Packaging: How much unnecessary packaging comes with it?
Dispensing: Are users taking more product than they need?
Soap: Could refillable systems reduce packaging?
Equipment: Could recycled materials be considered when replacement is required?
Waste: Where does everything go after use?
Supply: Are you ordering efficiently and using products appropriate to the facility?
A series of small improvements across these areas can potentially achieve more than focusing on one environmental claim.
Building a More Sustainable Commercial Washroom
There isn't one product that suddenly makes a washroom sustainable.
Instead, businesses can progressively improve their washrooms by choosing products carefully, reducing unnecessary consumption and thinking about the entire lifecycle of the products they use.
That might mean combining:
- Recycled paper towels
- Bamboo paper products
- Compostable paper towels
- Plastic-free packaging
- Recycled plastic dispensers
- Controlled dispensing
- Refillable soap systems
- Appropriate waste separation
- Composting where available
The best solution will depend on the workplace.
Start With Your Paper Towels
For businesses wanting a simple place to begin, paper hand towels are an everyday consumable worth reviewing.
Hygiene Direct's HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towels are made from recycled kraft paper, supplied in plastic-free packaging and provide a compostable option where suitable composting facilities are available.
Each carton contains 20 packs of 200 towels – 4,000 sheets in total.
Shop HD Best Compostable Slimfold Paper Towels
Or contact Hygiene Direct if you'd like help reviewing your existing commercial washroom and identifying practical opportunities to reduce waste and improve the products and dispensing systems you're using.
Related Articles
- What Are Compostable Paper Towels? A Guide for NZ Businesses
- Recycled vs Virgin Paper Towels: Which Is Better for Your Workplace?
- Can Used Paper Towels Be Composted?
- Plastic-Free Paper Towels: How to Reduce Washroom Packaging Waste