Are Paper Towels Bad for the Environment? Everything You Need to Know

Are paper towels bad for the environment? Yes, paper towels can be harmful to the environment.

Most paper towels are made from fresh wood, often from cut-down trees. Their production takes a lot of water, power, and strong chemicals like bleach. Since you can’t recycle them after use, they end up as waste in landfills.

A better option is to switch to a Swedish dishcloth. It’s reusable, compostable, and one cloth can replace 15 rolls of paper towels. You get a cleaner home without harming the planet.

In this blog, you’ll learn why paper towels harm the environment and how Swedish dishcloths make a smarter switch.

What Are Paper Towels?

Paper towels are soft, disposable sheets made from paper. People use them to clean surfaces, dry hands, or soak up spills. They’re designed for one-time use and are usually thrown away afterward.

Most paper towels are made from wood pulp. Trees are cut down, and the wood is processed into a pulp using water and chemicals. The pulp is then pressed into thin sheets, dried, and rolled into large rolls. Some paper towels are bleached to make them white, while others may be printed or dyed.

Paper towels require a lot of trees, clean water, and energy to produce. It can’t be recycled after use. They create a large amount of waste every day. That’s why people are looking for greener alternatives to paper towels, like Swedish dishcloths. It works just as well as paper towels, but without creating waste. 

Are Paper Towels Bad for the Environment?

Paper towels are bad for the environment. They require fresh wood to produce, waste resources, and become trash after one use. Here’s how they harm the environment.

Raw-Material Footprint

Paper towels are made using a large amount of virgin wood pulp. It means they come directly from freshly cut trees. On average, it takes about 17 fully grown trees to make just one ton of paper towels. That’s a lot of trees for something that’s used once and then thrown away. 

Producing paper towels also requires a lot of water. A ton of paper towels needs around 76,000 liters (or 20,000) of freshwater. That’s the same as 300 full bathtubs of clean water.

If you think of the bigger picture, paper towels are in a big demand. And for meeting such demands, the paper towel industry is linked to the loss of up to 270 million trees every year. These trees come from forests, help clean our air, regulate the climate and support wildlife. When they are affected, the damage affects the ecosystem around the world. 

Paper towels also require a lot of energy to produce. In fact, the pulp and paper industry is the fourth-largest industrial energy consumer in the world. From logging and plumbing to bleaching, drying, and packaging, energy is used in every step. This massive energy use increases carbon emissions and harms the environment.

Manufacturing Pollution

Manufacturing paper towels creates a lot of pollution. One major issue is the bleaching process. Many manufacturers use strong chemicals like chlorine, which produce toxic byproducts such as dioxins and furans. These substances do not break down easily and can build up in water, soil, and even human tissue.

Pulp and paper mills also release large amounts of wastewater during production. This water often contains leftover wood fibers, chlorine compounds, and heavy metals that contaminate rivers and lakes. In the U.S., the pulp and paper industry is responsible for about 9% of all industrial water pollution, harming aquatic life and local ecosystems.

Producing paper towels also requires a huge amount of energy. In 2021 alone, paper mills in the U.S. released over 34 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. This adds to greenhouse gas levels and drives climate change.

Some paper mills use safer bleaching methods like ECF and TCF. These methods release fewer toxic chemicals into water and air. But many mills still use older methods that cause more pollution. This difference affects how much harm each paper mill factory does to the environment.

Consumption & Waste

Paper towels are used in our day to day life. Americans use an estimated 13 billion pounds of paper towels each year. That’s a massive amount of paper towels that are meant to be used once and thrown away. 

On average, a household uses 80 rolls of paper towels a year. So, if you estimate the cost, it comes around $120 to $180 spent just on paper towels. This everyday item creates large amounts of waste and drives up household costs. 

After using, all that paper towel ends up somewhere. In 2018, the US sent about 3.8 million tons of tissue papers and land waste to landfills. That’s equivalent to 275,000 full garbage trucks. On a global scale, the waste is even bigger, around 254 million tons of used paper towels dumped each year. 

After-Use Fate & Compostability

After using paper towels, most of the time, they end up in the trash. In fact, nearly all paper towels go into landfills because they are not designed to be recycled. 

Recycling doesn’t work here because the fibers are too short to reuse. On top of that, most used towels are soaked with food, grease, or cleaning chemicals, which makes them not suitable for recycling.

However, paper towels can be composted but only if they’re free from chemicals, grease, or food waste. Towels soaked in oil, cleaning products, or ink should always be thrown away.

Climate Change Impact

Each sheet of paper towel produces about 0.06 pounds of CO₂, from tree cutting to landfill disposal. Using just 10 sheets a day adds up to around 219 pounds of CO₂ per year. That’s roughly the same as driving a car for 170 miles.

The pulp and paper industry accounts for about 0.5 to 0.6% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. That might seem small, but it’s a lot for a product that gets used once and thrown away.

When paper towels end up in landfills, they decompose without oxygen. This process releases methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO₂. It traps heat in the atmosphere. So, each used sheet adds to greenhouse gas emissions even after disposal.

Switch to a Reusable Alternative: Swedish Dishcloths

Paper towels are wasteful for the environment. They harm forests, drain water supplies, and pile up in landfills after just one use. If you're looking for a cleaner and smarter way to tidy up, it's time to make the switch.

Swedish dishcloths are an eco-friendly alternative to paper towels. They're made from natural cellulose and cotton, which makes them reusable, compostable, and strong enough for daily messes.

Here’s how they help the environment:

• Each cloth replaces 15 to 17 rolls of paper towels. That means fewer trees cut, less energy used, and less trash piling up.

• They last far longer than paper towels. One cloth can be washed and reused up to 200 times. That's 6 to 9 months of cleaning with a single dishcloth.

• When the dishcloth wears out, compost it. It will break down naturally and leave no waste behind.

You can use it for spills, wiping counters, cleaning dishes, and more. It absorbs up to 20 times its weight in liquid and dries quickly, which helps keep it fresh between uses.

Swedish dishcloths also save money. A single pack costs around twenty to thirty dollars. That replaces up to one hundred and eighty dollars' worth of paper towels in a year for most families. You reduce waste and lower your household costs at the same time.

Swedish Dishcloth vs Paper Towels

Paper towels are used once and then thrown away. Every year, about 6.5 million trees are cut down just to make them. It takes around 76,000 liters of water to produce a single ton. At the end of their use, each sheet releases around 0.06 pounds of CO₂ into the atmosphere.

A Swedish dishcloth can replace 17 rolls of paper towels. It absorbs up to 20 times its weight in liquid and doesn’t hold odor. Made from renewable cellulose and cotton, each reuse releases less than 0.01 pounds of CO₂. When it wears out, it doesn’t go to waste. The Swedish dishcloths are fully compostable and break down naturally.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Paper towels are used every day, but most people don’t know how they affect the environment. These FAQs explain their environmental impact and offer better cleaning options.

Do paper towels contain PFAS?

Some paper towels may contain PFAS, but not all. PFAS can be used in manufacturing to make products more resistant to water and grease. Always check for “PFAS-free” labeling or buy unbleached, eco-friendly brands to avoid them.

Can I compost paper towels soaked with cooking oil?

No, you should not compost paper towels soaked with cooking oil. The oil can slow down composting, attract pests, and create odor problems. It’s best to throw oily paper towels in the trash instead.

Do printed or colored paper towels hurt compost quality?

Yes, printed or colored paper towels can affect compost quality. The inks and dyes may contain chemicals that aren’t safe for compost. It’s better to use plain, unbleached paper towels if you plan to compost them.

Is it OK to flush paper towels?

No, it’s not OK to flush paper towels. They don’t break down like toilet paper and can clog pipes or damage plumbing systems. Always throw them in the trash instead.

What’s the most eco-friendly alternative to paper towels?

The most eco-friendly alternative to paper towels is the Swedish dishcloth. It’s reusable, compostable, and lasts for months. One cloth can replace about 15 rolls of paper towels, making it better for the planet and your wallet. How much waste do paper towels create?

In the U.S. alone, paper towels create over 13 billion pounds of waste each year. Most are used once and thrown away, filling landfills and contributing to ongoing environmental damage.

Final Thoughts

Are paper towels bad for the environment? Absolutely. Every year, billions of pounds are tossed after a single use. It seems harmless, but that daily habit adds up fast.

Paper towels can’t be recycled or reused. They end up in landfills after draining trees, water, and energy just to be made. It’s a high environmental cost for a throwaway product.

There’s a smarter swap: Swedish dishcloths. They clean better, last for months, and can be composted when worn out. With one simple switch, you cut waste, save money, and reduce carbon footprint.