Waste Prevention Information Exchange: Appliances

Air Dryers

Also see Paper.

Resources

Air Dryers v. Paper Towels, Streamlined Lifecycle Assessment Study—This streamlined study shows that the use of hand air dryers results in a smaller environmental footprint than the use of paper towels, though this is based on a number of assumptions needed in order to make calculations. Prepared for Airdri Limited and Bobrick Washroom Equipment Incorporated, August 3, 2001 by Environmental Resources Management, Eaton House, Wallbrook Court, North Hinksey Lane, Oxford OX2 0QS, Telephone 01865 384800, Facsimile 01865 384848, e-mail post@ermuk.com, Website www.ermuk.com. Provided by GreenBiz.com. Portable Document Format (PDF), 725 KB.
Pollution Prevention Research Within the Federal Community—Includes a brief mention and reasons to use air dryers instead of paper towels. Portable Document Format (PDF), 804 KB.

Hand Drying—From the Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board, a joint powers board of six counties in Minnesota.
Harvard Planning and Real Estate Environmental Procurement Guide—Suggested best practices and products for the Harvard campus, but not a lot of data. From the Harvard Green Campus Initiative.
XLerator, The Electric Hand Dryer Reinvented—Environmental Business News (EBN), Vol. 11, No. 1--January 2002. XLerator hand dryer gets hands dry in one-third the time, and uses about one-third the energy of conventional dryers. We were skeptical at first, too. Read on.

Last updated: October 9, 2007