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Episode:
33
This or That? What’s better? E-Readers vs. Books, Hand Dryers vs. Paper Towels, and the Truth about “Eco” Laundry Detergent
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14:49
Welcome to another "This or That" episode!
This short, snappy installment investigates the sustainability of three topics you've asked me about, helping you make informed decisions.
In this episode, we’ll be covering three unusual options:
In this episode, I share:
Key Quotes:
More Information:
I mentioned a few LCAs and information references that you can find here:
You can get involved with the podcast online:
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Kia ora kaitiaki and welcome to Now That's What I Call Green. I'm your host,Brianne West, an environmentalist and entrepreneur trying to get you as excitedabout our planet as I am. I'm all about creating a scientific approach tomaking the world a better place, without the judgment and making it fun. And ofcourse, we will be chatting about some of the most amazing creatures we shareour
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planet with. So if you are looking to navigate through everything green or notso green, you have come to the right place. Welcome back to This or That, whichis our short snappy pod episodes where I'm going to break down the leastimpactful options for you from things you've asked me about predominantly onInstagram. Today we've got three unusual options. You've got e-readers versusphysical books, so Kindles versus an
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old book. Hand drying versus paper towels. I don't know about you, but I hatehand dryers, so this one kind of annoyed me. And what is the best type oflaundry detergent? Because I don't know about you, but I've seen more and moreof those strip things, and I have a real bee in my bonnet about them.
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As always, before we start, jot down which you think is gonna be the bestoption, because I always love challenging people on the assumptions we haveabout sustainability, because so many of them are wrong. You all got mad at mewhen I talked about
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how single-use glass, i.e. all the glass bottles that your drinks come in, areso much worse than single-use plastic. Yes, I know, that's not what you assume.So let's talk about books. I'm currently building a library
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and I'm filling it with secondhand books. And this has brought this discussionto mind a little bit for me, is what is better? A Kindle or a real book?Because you can't beat the feel of books, the smell, the little holes and thereally old ones that bookworms
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have made, the feel, they're just better. But are they actually better for theplanet? Well, if you look at the environmental impact, physical books requirepaper, obviously, which means trees, water and energy. And according toLifecycle Analysis, reading 120 physical books over five years, which isprobably slightly above average because the average American reads just threebooks a year, that would result in greenhouse gas
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emissions of about 150 kilograms of CO2 equivalent. That's everything frompaper, ink, transportation of books to your home or to the bookstore. That'sthe whole point of a life cycle analysis. It's the life cycle. So if a book isread only once and then thrown away, its environmental impact is really high.Of course, however, most books are passed on, they're given to secondhandbookshops,
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borrowed from a library or whatever, so their impact is significantly reducedover its lifetime. Now that number does vary. Some say it produces as much as7.5 kgs of CO2 per book. So you've got a bit of a scale there depending on somany different factors, of course, and it depends on whether the wood is FSC,so that's Forest Stewardship Council certified, which means it's sustainablygrown.
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As always, sustainability is grey. What is not grey, of course, is thate-readers like Kindles have a much higher initial environmental cost becausethey are made out of stuff and metals and plastic. So producing andtransporting an e-reader results in about 52, 53 kgs of CO2 emissions. Samestudy, same collection method. This accounts for everything from raw materialextraction to manufacturing assembly and transportation to the consumer.E-readers,
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of course, contain lithium-ion batteries which have their own environmentalfootprint. Lithium mining, I've talked about it ad nauseum on here before. Ithas its own episode. It's resource intensive. It's pretty vile for people andplanet. It has significant water use, environmental degradation, and then youhave other things
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such as cobalt, which predominantly comes out of the Democratic Republic ofCongo, where human rights abuses are just next level horrific. Now, as Imentioned in the previous episode, battery tech is getting better and better,and these rare earth minerals are soon, hopefully, no longer going to benecessary, but it is something to bear in mind as well. E-readers have arelatively low energy consumption.
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They last about two weeks on a full charge. And the study suggests if you readmore than 25 books on your e-reader within its five-year lifespan, that'sroughly how long they expect them to last, the e-reader is infinitely moreclimate-friendly than physical books, unless you are like the average Americanand you read fewer than 25 books in that time. However, New Zealanders, we aredoing better.
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We read about 11 books per year. Now, it's a little bit tricky to quantify someof this, of course, because physical books can last for decades, I mean, evencenturies, and they can be passed down, borrowed, reread, reread, reread,whereas e-readers have a limited lifespan
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and often need replacement after that five-year period. Of course, some peoplehave to constantly chase the newest thing and replace them a lot earlier thanthat, so you've gotta bear that in mind as well. But it boils down to this. Ifyou're a heavy reader, an e-reader is the best option.
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But just keep that thing for as long as you possibly can. For light readers, orthose who are really obsessed with that tactile experience of physical books,sticking with paper might be justifiable, especially if you make use oflibraries, secondhand books, or pass them on to others.
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As long as you get them back, of course. But wait, there's one final option, ofcourse, and that is what if you're using an app, like the Kindle app on yourphone? So if you're reading e-books on a smartphone you already own, this isthe best option of all
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because you're not purchasing an additional device, there's no extraenvironmental cost from manufacturing or mining, the incidental energyconsumption from reading on your phone is negligible. So in this scenario,using your phone
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for reading e-books is infinitely better. So that's my recommendation. That iswhat I do. I did have a Kindle and I did enjoy it, but honestly I didn't seethat much of a benefit, but that's me.
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Number two, hand drying. Drying your hands is just as important as using soap.I have seen so many people leaving bathrooms just flinging their hands around,spraying droplets, which as someone who studied microbiology at university,makes me cringe. Wet hands take on and offload way more microbes. So please,please, please dry your hands. And studies show, because I mean, I don't knowabout you, but I hate hand dryers.
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They give me the ick, especially the ones that collect water in the bottom ofthem. And I appreciate they might have UV lights, but...ugh. Studies show thatpaper towels may slightly reduce bacteria in hands compared to air dryers, butthe difference is pretty minimal for practical purposes. And then when youconsider modern hand dryers, especially jet air dryers, they have madesignificant advances in hygiene and are pretty much considered the same.Ultimately, they're all considered safe and effective.
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So if we look again at more LCA's life cycle assessments, they provide a reallyclear picture of this. And oddly enough, there's been a lot of them.Unfortunately, a lot of these have been sponsored by the Hand DryerAssociation. And whilst LCA's should be independent and you should be able torely on them, particularly if you read the methodology, I'm always a little bitmore sceptical about industry funded
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ones. So let's look at the one by MIT or the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology. They found that jet dryers produce between 9 to 40 grams of CO2 useand of course the variance there depends on the electricity source. So Aotearoais mostly renewable, whereas say somewhere like Poland is mostly coal. Sothat's the difference. Warm air dryers are the ones that just puff thatpathetic blow like someone blowing on your hands. They emit more, peculiarly,and that's between
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20 to 80 grams per use. A paper towel results in 15 grams of CO2 emissions, butmost people use two towels. However, of course, it's not just about CO2emissions. Another study completed at the University of Melbourne compared handdryers and paper towels and found that hand dryers have a significantly lowerenvironmental footprint, particularly when the electricity used is fromrenewable sources. The production and disposal of paper towels contributes tohigher greenhouse gas emissions,
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resource use, waste generation, particularly as, let's be honest, they're nevergoing to be composted in commercial environments because they just don't havethose facilities typically. They also require ongoing production, packaging,transportation and disposal. So that's pretty significant in terms of anenvironmental burden. Millions end up in landfill every single day and ofcourse nothing breaks down in a landfill because it's an anoxic or oxygen-freeenvironment. So from an environmental standpoint, this is actually an easy one.
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And even the LCA, which says that paper towels emit more emissions, said thatwhen you compare everything, hand dryers come out ahead, especially whenpowered by renewable energy. But even when they're not, they produce lesswaste, they have a lower overall carbon footprint compared to paper towels.However, if paper towels are made from recycled materials, properly composted,which is super unlikely to be honest, it can be a more environmentally friendlychoice.
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But the clear winner in most scenarios is the hand dryer, particularly thosefancy modern Dyson spray ones. And finally, we get to laundry detergent. As Imentioned in the intro, I have a bee in my bonnet about those stupid laundrystrips. They have gained popularity over traditional powder
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and liquid detergents because A, they're incredibly convenient. Just grab asheet, throw it in the washer, push start, done, easy. Second, everybody istalking about the sustainability advantage of these things and some of theseclaims make sense.
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So, the reduced weight of these detergents definitely lower transportation andstorage requirements and that saves massive amounts of energy. However, thereare pretty interesting consumer safety and environmental concerns related tothe materials that these are made of. And the primary concern is that the filmin these pods, so you're like the things that everybody was eating a couple ofyears ago, if you remember, Tide Pods, or the stuff that
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is used in the sheets, because of course it's not just compressed laundrypowder. It's made of something called polyvinyl alcohol, or PVA, or PVOH, samething, different acronym. This is a synthetic petroleum-based polymericplastic. That just means it's a polymer, so it's a plastic, and it dissolves inwater, so it breaks down into smaller plastic particles called microplastics.Sometimes, in certain situations, these break down further and they arebiodegradable, right? Absolutely. But recent studies have absolutely challengedthis biodegradability
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under real-world conditions. So researchers from Arizona State University foundthat the majority of dissolved PVA film and wastewater is not fullybiodegraded, and that's using current, up-to-date water treatment plants. Sothat's not throwing it in the river, that's not throwing it in a pond in yourhouse, that's through proper water treatment, this shit doesn't dissolve asthey say it does. And this is my problem.
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In order for PVA to biodegrade, special PVA adapted microbes need to be presentat high levels and for extended durations. And since most water treatmentfacilities do not do that, it's I think a pretty big red flag. Moreover, if youthink about the production of PVA itself, it's pretty polluting. There was astudy done by Ryerson University has indicated that the production of PVAinvolves
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significant environmental burdens, including the release of carcinogenictoxins, ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication, and fossil fueldepletion. That's a lot of words to throw at you, but basically none of thoseare good. So these negative impacts for me totally outweigh any benefit broughtabout by the reduced dosage and weight of these PVA-based detergents. So it'snot just strips, it's also those silly squishy pods.
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It is also worth noting that strips perform the absolute worst in consumer NewZealand testing. They are the bottom three by a significant margin and I willput all the references as always to these studies and to this consumer study inthe show notes.
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So when you see these strips marketed as plastic-free and eco-friendly, askthem for an LCA because hey, they may have done one, they may have created abrand new material. I'm not saying that all of them out there
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are gonna be terrible, but the vast majority, all of the ones I've seen,they're made of PVA or PVOH, same thing, and they are not as good as theyproclaim. And of course, they don't work. If you go to tablets,
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so detergent tablets are super convenient, right? They're often not wrapped.The powder ones aren't wrapped, but of course the liquid ones are, so again,watch out for that water-soluble plastic. But the tablets are pre-measured,which helps reduce the risk of overuse, which is a common
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problem with liquid and powder, which leads to less waste, more consistentwashing results. Tablets typically come in minimal packaging. It's oftencardboard, so that's useful for environmental footprint, but of course, singleuse cardboard isn't perfect. But tablets do have a higher energy footprintduring production compared to other forms of detergent because they need to becompressed and processed further and they may be less
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effective in cold water, particularly when dealing with heavily soiled clothes.Again, have a look at the consumer study to see. They're certainly not the topthree, but they're not bad. They're not terrible. Powdered detergent isarguably the staple in most households. It's considered one of the mosteffective, again, rating the highest in the New Zealand Consumer Study, andit's particularly useful for really dirty clothes. It's typically, again, soldin cardboard boxes, often without bags,
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which makes it easier to recycle. They also tend to be more concentrated, soyou use less per load, particularly when you compare it to a liquid detergent.They generally have a lower carbon footprint than liquid detergents becausethey're lighter,
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they don't contain unnecessary water, so they have lower emissions. Andaccording to studies, the production of powder detergent can also be moreenergy efficient compared to liquids. Of course, powder detergent isn'tperfect.
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Sometimes it leaves a residue on clothes if you don't dissolve it properly,particularly in cold water, but really that comes down to the quality of theproduct, right? Again, you want to watch out for ones that contain phosphatesor other ingredients that are not biodegradable, which can be harmful toaquatic ecosystems if they enter waterways. Fortunately, to be honest, mostmodern day detergents are phosphate free, which really
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reduces this issue, but it is worth bearing in mind. Now, if we get to liquiddetergent, it's one of the most popular forms and I'm baffled as to why. It isabsolutely highly effective, especially in cold water. It dissolves easilybecause it's already a liquid,
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and it can be used for pre-treating stains. But according to that consumertest, liquid detergents perform better than strips, right? But like I think arock would, to be honest. But not as well as powder detergents. So, middle ofthe road.
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But liquid detergents are heavier. They almost exclusively come in plasticbottles. They are heavier to transport. They have a higher carbon footprintbecause of that, and of course they also come with the same risks from aningredient standpoint as phosphates and other non-biodegradable things that youmay want to avoid.
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So if you're looking for the most eco-friendly version, it looks like it'spowder. Laundry detergent strips, they may be marketed as eco-friendly, butthey definitely contribute to microplastics and they just don't work very well.Tablets, especially the ones that are liquid in that water-soluble plastic,that leads again to microplastic pollution. They are convenient, they do lessenwaste, but they may not be the best choice
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if you're super concerned about the environment. Liquid detergent is thebottom, highest environmental impact due to plastic packaging andtransportation emissions. So the winner is powder. Lower emissions, bestpackaging,
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and the best cleaning power. Win, win, win. So there you have it. Read yourbooks on your phone with the clean hands that you washed and dried using a handdryer. And enjoy the smell of your powdery laundry clothing. That's really hardto combine into one sentence.
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Hope that was helpful. Hope it was enjoyable. And remember, as always, if someof this doesn't apply, let it fly. It's all about progress, not perfection. Andnow you know more, you can do better. Have a wonderful week. See you next week.And there you go. I hope you learned something and realised that being greenisn't about everything in your pantry matching with those silly glass jars orliving in a commune. If that's your jam, fabulous, but sustainability at itsheart is just using what you need.
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If you enjoyed this episode, please don't keep it to yourself and feel free to drop me a rating and hit the subscribe button. Kia ora and I'll see you next week.
