Maybe they didn’t replace the rolls in your school with clean ones and just put the dirty one back in? At least the modern towel machines don’t rotate the same roll.
So I’ve looked into these towel dispensers when I was learning about TENCEL and the company that makes it: Lenzing.
Companies in Europe can take the dirty towels from these dispensers, bring them back to their warehouses where they have massive drums for laundering, as restock hotels and businesses as needed. It’s a pretty solid form of circularity.
Then, when those towels reach their End of Life (EOL), Lenzing has agreements with these companies to accept the cotton towels for use in their production of TENCEL. The final fiber ends up being maybe 60-70% TENCEL (twisted cellulose) and 30-40% recycled cotton. Then that fiber is sold to make clothing, sheets, maybe even more towels (one could dream).
Paper it definitely cheaper in terms of raw goods and processing, but you can’t control the waste stream. Sure, you can have garbage bins nearby, but people can toss whatever they want in there. Having a machine run through the towels means the user doesn’t have to think of care about disposal: only use. Really it’s a form of extended producer responsibility (EPR) which is the holy grail of recycling imo. Plus cotton feels better compared to paper imo
Edit: another commenter spoke to the hygiene and convenience of it all. I agree that humans suck and so relying on a machine to work is a big ask given how little maintenance lots of places do. Shaking your hands dry is probably the most sustainable since you aren’t using any materials
The problem with them is that it’s up to the owner of the facility to make sure they are removed and cleaned in a timely manner, not simply re-rolled dirty towel, and the machine was in good repair and didn’t jam.
Quite often that wasn’t the case, so you’d wind up with dirty towel recycling or stuck.
Yes, this absolutely contributed to the spread of disease. No way it couldn’t. I had a family member in the medical field and said that the reason we didn’t see them anymore much past the ‘80s is because they were unhygienic thanks to the aforementioned issues.
So it’s not really the fault of the towel, it’s the fact that people are cheap bastards and don’t keep things serviced, clean, and maintained. It’s better to grumble and shake your hands dry rather than continue to use a jammed, soiled towel machine.
There was a bar near me that still had one of these things until quite recently, and yeah it was always on the ground and gross and stuff. I just used a napkin the few times I went there.
But then they had a fire and got rid of them. Now they have a freestanding roll of paper towel that’s always wet and falling on the floor which is much better…
Contrary to popular belief, these don’t recycle the same length of cloth over and over. It goes from end to end l.
They are probably the most hygienic option for public bathrooms (until the towel runs out).
Then why the hell were they always so fucking dirty looking?
You are always looking at the part someone just used.
I remember pulling out new towels from my high school gym and them being already dirty.
Maybe they didn’t replace the rolls in your school with clean ones and just put the dirty one back in? At least the modern towel machines don’t rotate the same roll.
What about paper?
So I’ve looked into these towel dispensers when I was learning about TENCEL and the company that makes it: Lenzing.
Companies in Europe can take the dirty towels from these dispensers, bring them back to their warehouses where they have massive drums for laundering, as restock hotels and businesses as needed. It’s a pretty solid form of circularity.
Then, when those towels reach their End of Life (EOL), Lenzing has agreements with these companies to accept the cotton towels for use in their production of TENCEL. The final fiber ends up being maybe 60-70% TENCEL (twisted cellulose) and 30-40% recycled cotton. Then that fiber is sold to make clothing, sheets, maybe even more towels (one could dream).
Paper it definitely cheaper in terms of raw goods and processing, but you can’t control the waste stream. Sure, you can have garbage bins nearby, but people can toss whatever they want in there. Having a machine run through the towels means the user doesn’t have to think of care about disposal: only use. Really it’s a form of extended producer responsibility (EPR) which is the holy grail of recycling imo. Plus cotton feels better compared to paper imo
Edit: another commenter spoke to the hygiene and convenience of it all. I agree that humans suck and so relying on a machine to work is a big ask given how little maintenance lots of places do. Shaking your hands dry is probably the most sustainable since you aren’t using any materials
That is just a colossal waste
The problem with them is that it’s up to the owner of the facility to make sure they are removed and cleaned in a timely manner, not simply re-rolled dirty towel, and the machine was in good repair and didn’t jam.
Quite often that wasn’t the case, so you’d wind up with dirty towel recycling or stuck.
Yes, this absolutely contributed to the spread of disease. No way it couldn’t. I had a family member in the medical field and said that the reason we didn’t see them anymore much past the ‘80s is because they were unhygienic thanks to the aforementioned issues.
So it’s not really the fault of the towel, it’s the fact that people are cheap bastards and don’t keep things serviced, clean, and maintained. It’s better to grumble and shake your hands dry rather than continue to use a jammed, soiled towel machine.
Yeah, then I think it’s washed and replaced.
They still got pretty gross, though.
Welcome to every towel in a hotel
Who believes thar?
That’s true, but they just end up completely unwound on the ground. It also gets progressively more brown
There was a bar near me that still had one of these things until quite recently, and yeah it was always on the ground and gross and stuff. I just used a napkin the few times I went there.
But then they had a fire and got rid of them. Now they have a freestanding roll of paper towel that’s always wet and falling on the floor which is much better…
Can’t say I’ve experienced this a lot. I’ve seen it happen but those are exceptions. Even in public restrooms they’re kept in good condition.