Comparing Reusable Textile and Disposable Productsinfohouse.p2ric.org/ref/06/05465.pdf · single-use napkins. However, many reusable textiles, such as industrial uni- forms, are not

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by Carl Lehrburger and Jocelyn Mullen Carl Lehrburger is a waste reduction, recycling and product development con- sultant living in western Massachusetts. Jocelyn Mullen, an environmental en- gineer who consults with the resource recovery and reusable textile industries, lies in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Their firm, Lehrburger Mullen, has com- pleted severa1 studies on behalf of trade associations which contrast reusable and disposable products.

The article is based on a study com- pleted by Jocelyn Mullen and Carl Lehrburger under contract to the Textile Renta1 Services Association of America and the Institute of Industrial Launder- ers, November 1991.

A recent study found that commercial/industrial laundries offer waste

’ savings for textile use.

Comparing reusable textile and disposable products

Their industry calls them “reusable textile products.” To the rest of us, they are the cloth napkins served at nicer restaurants, cotton bar towels or the cabinet roll-towels in the public restroom. In hos- pitals and health care settings, these products include exam and surgery gowns and washable diapers and bed pads. In factories and printshops, they are used as shop towels and wipers.

Although other industries have re- ceived attention for their recycling ef- forts, the positive conserving nature of renta1 laundering operations has largely been ignored. Yet in contrast to disposable products that are used once and then discarded immediately in the solid waste stream, reusable textiles are a living, breathing example of reuse.

A recently released study has examined the solid waste impacts of specific disposable paper versus reusable textile products, seeking to quantify the potential for reducing the amount of paper waste from commercial and industrial sources.

The study, A Sohd Waste and Laundering Assessment of Selected Reusable and Disposable Products, characterized the amount of solid waste produced by disposable and reusable products, including paper towels, wipers and napkins, adult incontinente products and hospital health care products such as hospital gowns.

Research findings suggest the potential of reusable textiles products to assist in waste stream reduction is significant. In fact, figures show the nation could cut its waste stream by almost 1.5 million tons annually simply by substituting reusables in these product areas for their disposable counterparts. If you add to this figure the 3 million tons of infant disposable diapers tossed each year, the solid waste impacts of the selected disposables increases to 4.5 million tons and equals almost 20 million cubic yards of landfill space annually.

Reusable industry study The study was commissioned by two trade associations from the reusable textile industry to determine solid waste savings that could be achieved by substituting reusable for disposable products. It also included a laundry comparison of uniforms washed at home and by commercial/industriaI launderers.

The study was not a product lifecycle analysis, nor did it compare the water impacts of competing reusables and disposable products. Previous work by the authors includes a lifecycle analysis of disposable, home-washed and commer- cially laundered infant diapers (1). Table 1 illustrates the specific products studied.

The study was based on the assump- tion that all reusable and disposable products are processed by one or both of two different, but interconnected, waste disposal systems: the wastewater treatment system, and the solid waste disposal system. Reusable textiles rely primarily on wastewater treatment for disposal, transferring the waste burden from the solid waste system. Disposable products rely almost exclusively on the solid waste system.

Solid wastes are typically broken down into two main categories for pur- poses of analysis: process solid waste and post-consumer solid waste. Process solid waste is the waste generated during any and all phases of manufacturing the primary product(s), including wastes generated by fuel production and combustion and acquisition of inputs to the primary manufacturing process(es). Post-consumer solid waste is the waste generated during and after the useful life of the product, including sewage sludge from the treatment of laundering water.

Reusable and disposable products are not used or substituted on a one-to-one basis. Textile products are washed many times during their useful life, and within a single distribution cycle a cloth

79 Resarce Recychg July 1992

product may be used many times before it is tossed into the hamper for the next cleaning. In contrast, it often takes sev- eral single-use products for one job, such as cleaning up à large spill or wiping one’s hands with paper napkins during a meal.

In order to contrast reusable textiles with their disposable counterparts, the concept of a “task” was used to estab- lish comparative use parameters for each product category.

For example, disposable towels are used for one task, then discarded. Re- usable towels may be used one time, then laundered if the nature of the task (e.g., wiping up grease) makes it impossible to reuse the towel again before cleaning. If the task is wiping up water or dusting, the cloth towel may be used five or 50 times before laundering. Be- cause of the variations in possible use patterns, multiple use scenarios were developed.

Reusable cotton products Reusable textiles generate solid waste in a variety of ways, including packaging, lint from the laundering process, in-

I Table 1 - Reusable and disposable products studied x Area of study Reusable products Disposable products Drying/wiping

Drying hands Continuous towels Paper towels Food service Cloth napkins Paper napkins

Cloth towels Paper towels Industrial wiping/cleaning Shop/print towels Paper towels

tlealth care Cloth gowns Nonwoven/paper gowns Adult incontinente care Cloth diapers Single-use diapersipads

Cloth bed pads Single-use bed pads Industrial uniforms Pants, long- No disposable alternative

steeve shirt

Source: Lehrburger Mullen, 1992.

cidental wastes generated by a laundering facility, and the sludges generated from wastewater treatment. When the total number of uses of each reusable product is divided into the total solid waste generated during its life, solid waste per equivalent use is significantly lower for reusable products than for single-use disposable products.

Textiles ultimately enter the solid waste stream after their useful life, and usually after severa1 more uses as rags. A survey of linen supply and industrial laundering services revealed that a large

percentage of renta1 textiles are sold as rags after their useful lives as renta1 products.

Process solid waste generated by the cotton and synthetic fibers industries during cotton growth, harvest, processing, weaving and cloth manufacture, and synthetic fiber manufacturing and weaving was calculated for each reusable product. By comparing reusable and single-use products on an equivalent task basis, it becomes evident that as the number of tasks per product increases, the process solid waste per

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task decreaies. The contribution of process solid waste per task is further reduced when reusable products become rags after their useful service life.

Disposal methods for sludge include landfilling, combustion and land application. In industrialized areas, wastewater treatment sludges can contain potentially toxic heavy metals and organics. Land application is suitable only for sludges that do not contain contami- nants in concentrations that could pose environmental or public health hazards.

The amount of sludge generated by treatment of water used for laundering was converted to a per-task basis and included in the post-consumer waste calculations. Relatively large numbers of total uses over the life of a reusable product contributes to relatively low post-consumer waste generation figures per 1,000 tasks. Packaging and sludge are the dominant components of post- consumer waste for reusable products.

Linen supply businesses and industrial launderers rely on packaging to pro- tect some clean products during trans- port and distribution to clients. Because packaging is used after each laundering cycle for napkins, packaging impacts from reusable napkins are on the same order of magnitude as packaging from single-use napkins. However, many reusable textiles, such as industrial uniforms, are not packaged for distribution and may only be bound by twine or placed on hangers, significantly reducing packaging impacts compared with their disposable counterparts.

Single-use (disposable) products Nearly all of the disposable products covered in the study place primary impacts on the solid waste disposal system. Commercial and industrial uses of paper towels, napkins and adult incon- tinent care products consume 37 per- cent of the tissue produced by the pulp and paper industry in the United States, and generate 1.4 million tons of mu- nicipal solid waste (MSW) each year. Other uses of tissue, such as hospital gowns, represent another 14,000 tons of MSW per year.

The paper, plastics and nonwovens industries have made significant progress in reducing the quantity of process waste requiring disposal. The paper industry burns waste wood for energy production and recovers and recycles process chemicals. Paper wastes generated during the papermaking process are often repulped and incorporated

back into new paper. The plastics and- Post-consumer solid waste calcula- nonwovens industries practice similar tions include the weight of the product scrap recycling. This type of recycling, as manufactured and the estimated pre-consumer recycling, is distinguished weight of any residuals contained in the from post-consumer recycling. product at the time of disposal.

Process solid wastes generated by the pulp and paper industry, the plastics industry and the nonwovens industry were calculated for each disposable product. As the number of tasks per product increases, the process solid waste contribution per task decreases.

Although both the reusable textile and single-use product industries have made progress in reducing the quantity and volume of packaging waste over the last decade, for most of the products studied, the use of single-use products generates significantly more packaging

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wastes per task than reusables. For example, disposable adult diapers and pads generate 100 times more packaging waste than reusables per 1,000 equivalent tasks.

Comparing products Commercial towels. Table 2 presents

a comparison of solid waste generated by 1,000 equivalent uses of single-use and reusable commercial towels for drying and wiping tasks.

’ n Table 2 - Solid waste impacts of commercial towels per 1,000 equivalent uses

Solid waste per 1,000 Commercial towels Number used/task Number of washes life task (pounds) Drying hands

Paper towels 1 0 7.64 2 15.28 3 D 22.91

Continuous cloth towels 0.0069 59 1.05

Food Service Paper towels 1 0 7.64

2 0 15.28 3 22.91

Cloth bar towels (1 taskiwash) 1 .o 13 32.51 (5 tasks/wash) 0.2 13 9.92 (10 tasks/wash) 0.1 13 5.31 (20 tasksiwash) 0.05 13 2.75 (25 tasksiwash) 0.04 13 2.22 (50 tasks/wash) 0.02 13 1.13

Total waste numbers represent the quantity of solid waste generated by each product per 1,000 equivalent tasks, including the full weight of the product at final disposal, process solid waste generated during manufacturing and post- consumer packaging. The number of uses of each product as rags (five uses per rag times the number of rags per product based on size) further reduces Source: Lehrburger Mullen, 1992.

the quantity of waste generated per equivalent task. paper towel per task is used for compari- similar. Assuming a low-end estimate

Continuous cloth towels used for dry- son. When three paper towels are used that cloth towels are used for 10 tasks ing hands produced one-seventh the per task, disposable paper towels pro- before laundering, when compared with amount of solid waste of paper towels duce 22 times more solid waste per paper towels at a use rate of one per per 1,000 equivalent tasks, even when 1,000 tasks. task, cloth produces two-thirds the solid the most favorable use parameter of one In the food service sector, trends are waste of paper towels. In a more likely

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scenario, wheh the number of pzper towels used per task is increassd to three, paper towels generate more than four times the quantity of solid waste per 1,000 equivalent tasks.

The data overwhelmingly suggest that, at a minimum, the use of cloth towels produces two-thirds the solid waste of paper towels, using the scenario most favorable to paper disposables. In the scenario most favorable ‘&o reusables, paper products produce 20 times more solid waste than doe, cloth. And in the most moderate sit&ation, paper towels still product ?.!,Iost three times more solid waste tian cloth bar towels.

c., Industrib wipers and towels. Table 3 prt?sents data on industrial uses of cloth shop towelS‘ compared to paper wipers. For clean tasks Wic¿sre ow or two paper wipers would be used Wtead of a cloth shop towel at five or 10 taeks per wash, paper produces more thari íû times more solid waste than cloth towels.

For dirty tasks where two or three paper wipers would be used instead of a

n Table 3 - Solid waste impacts of industrial wipers and toweds per 1,000 equivalent uses

Industrial Solid waste per 1,000 wipers and towels Number used/task Number of washes life task c,põunds) Paper wipers 1 0 11.47

2 0 22.94 3 0 34.41

Cloth shop towels (1 task/wash) 1 .oo 14.6 8.93 (3 tasks/wash) .33 14.6 3.57 (5 tasksiwash) .20 14.6 2.23 (10 tasks/wash) .lO 14.6 ?.15


l Table 4 - Solid waste impacts of napkins per 1,000 equivalent USeS Solid waste per 1,000

Napkins Number useditask Number of washes life task (pounds) Paper napkins 1 0 15.98

2 0 32.16 3 3 47.95

Ckzt’h’;apKli 1s 1 33 3.23


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able napkirls for drying and wiping tasks in the fooo’ service sector.

Cloth naptkins at one per task and 33 washes befo re being discarded produce about one-flttti I”be solid waste produced by paper napkins LS! one per task. If three paper napkins are used per task, paper products produce almost 15 times more solid waste per 1,000 equivalent tasks than reusables. At ‘iwo paper napkins per task, paper prc”.uces almost 10 times more solid ‘Jvaste than cloth napkins. However, Toad service industry sources indicate three paper napkins per cloth equivalent is a more typical replacement figure

Hospital gowns. Table 5 presents a comparison of solid waste generated by 1,000 equivalent uses of single-use and reusable hospital gowns for examination, isolation and surgical tasks in the medical and health care sector.

Cloth hospital gowns produce less solid waste per 1,000 equivalent uses than paper or nonwoven gowns. Paper examination gowns generate almost four times as much solid waste as cloth exam gowns. Nonwoven isolation gowns produce five

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pital gowns produce more solid waste than cloth gowns, but the waste produced may often be classified as infectipus or “red bag” waste, and is thus more costly and more difficult to discard properly. Re- liance on cloth hospital gowns represents a simple and cost-effective way to reduce the quantity of potentially infectious hospital waste requiring disposal.

Adult incontinente care products. Table 6 presents a comparison of solid waste generated by 1,000 equivalent uses of single-use and reusable adult in- continent diapers and bed pads in the medical and health care sectors. Infant diapers are not included.

Single-use adult incontinente diapers and pads generate over 75 times more solid waste than 1,000 equivalent uses of reusable cloth diapers and pads.

Reuse and waste reduction There is near universal consensus that waste reduction and material reuse pre- sent the best opportunities for reducing the costs and environmental impacts of solid waste. By reducing the amount of wastes generated at the source, the costs of waste collection and transportation are reduced and resources otherwise allo- cated to production of materials that become waste (e.g., packaging) are con- served. For these and other reasons, reuse and reduction are preferred methods of waste management.

Given this preferente, often expressed in legislation, it is discouraging that fed- eral and state governments have de-

emphasized waste reduction and materials reuse as waste management tools, especially when compared with the em- phasis on waste disposal technologies.

Reusable textiles, such as these uniforms (1) and cloth bar towels (Z), significantly reduce waste.

In spite of the failure of public policy to recognize and promote the benefits of waste reduction, many companies today are incorporating waste reduction, reuse and recycling practices into their cor- porate missions, goals and everyday ac- tivities.

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n Table 5 - Solid waste impacts of hospital gowns per 1,000 equivalent uses

Solid waste per 1,000 Hospital gowns Number useditask Number of washes life task (pounds) Exam gowns

Paper gown 1 0 82 Cloth gown 1 68 23.04

Isolation gowns Nonwoven gown 1 0 128.3 Cloth gown 1 68 25.49

Surgical gowns Nonwoven gown 1 0 164 Cloth gown 1 68 27.94


n Table 6 - Solid waste impacts of adult incontinente care products per 1,000 equivalent uses

Adult incontinente care products Number useditask Single-use diapers

and pads 1 Reusable diapers

and pads 1


Solid waste per 1,000 Number of washes life task (pounds)

0 977.3

76 12.36

As greater attention focùses on bur- geoning solid waste problems, r@JSable textiles are emerging as one readily available and simple solution. Large U.S. corporations that provide products and services in the hospitality, restaurant and industrial sectors now looking at strategles to curtall excesslve waste should investigate greater reliance on reusable textile products as a preferred and effective alternative to wasteful single-use products. RR

Complete copies of this report may be obtained from Carl Lehrburger for $75 ($55 for nonprofits). For more information, write to Lehrburger Mullen, P.O. Box 998, Great Barrington, MA 01230. The quthors can be reached at (413) 528-1325 for Carl Lehrburger and (719) 635-8939 for Jocelyn Mullen.

Referente

(1) Diapers: fnvironmental Impacts and Lifecy- cle Analysis, Lehrburger, Mullen and Jones, January 1991.

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