Hand Drying Footprint Calculator

Compare paper towel and electric hand dryer footprints.

Paper towels (yearly CO2) 43.8

Electric dryer (yearly CO2) 69.35

Formula: Paper: ~4 g CO2 per sheet; dryer: ~20 s per use

Step-by-step with your numbers:

1. Values used:

2. Daily uses = 10

3. Paper sheets per use = 3

5. Paper towels (yearly CO2) = 43.8

6. Electric dryer (yearly CO2) = 69.35

Did we solve your problem today?

A hand dryer uses electricity; paper towels consume trees and energy to make and transport.

The math behind it

Paper ~4 g CO2 per sheet. An electric dryer uses ~2 kW for ~20 s per dry.

10 uses x 3 sheets a day is about 44 kg CO2/year for paper vs ~1.9 kg for a dryer.

Which pollutes more?

Modern electric dryers usually win, but old heated-air models can be worse.