Can a Restroom Single-Handedly Save Resources and Money?

When a business thinks about cutting operational costs and saving money, chances are the public restroom may not be at the top of the list for consideration. However, what if by making one simple change material costs, maintenance and waste could be reduced by as much as 99%-not to mention reducing the carbon footprint by nearly 50-70%?

Meet World Dryer’s SMARTdri^®, SLIMdri^®, VMax^® and the soon-to-be-released VERDEdri and experience a host of cost saving opportunities

Let’s look at the facts. We all know paper is expensive and visitors to a faculty typically use way more towels than they need to. In fact, on average, people use 2.5 sheets of paper towels each time they dry their hands. At roughly 2 cents per sheet, it costs almost 5 cents per person to dry their hands.Multiply that times 200 restroom users per day and suddenly it is an expense of almost $4,000 per year on paper towels alone!This doesn’t even consider the hidden cost of paper towels, the cost of managing the supply chain and waste stream.

World Dryer’s high speed SMARTdri and surface mounted ADA-compliant SLIMdri both feature heat controls for optimizing user comfort and energy efficiency. The cost savings this new technology delivers is impressive. Now it will only cost around 7 cents per 200 uses with heat and only 4 cents per 200 uses without the heat.

Compared to the cost of using paper towels, these hand dryers can achieve nearly $5,000 per year in savings! Clearly, there is no question the cost difference is worth attention. Not to mention, once installed, hand dryers require considerably less attention than paper towel dispensers do, which saves additional money on labor and maintenance. SMARTdri, SLIMdri, and the upcoming VERDEdri and hands-in style VMax all offer fast dry times up to 3 times faster than traditional hand dryers.

Even moderate traffic buildings like schools and healthcare facilities are realizing the cost benefits of World Dryer’s fast-drying hand dryers. For example, based on cost-analysis studies of schools, an average school can save as much as $15,000 per year over paper towel costs by installing hand dryers. That is money that can be used for more important things, like books, extra-curricular programs, computers and more.

When it comes to the question of installation cost versus overall costs, the answer is certainly clear.

We can save the environment together

Everyone knows the challenges faced every day to conserve our natural resources. While paper towels may not consume electricity for use, the energy required to produce them is tremendous. According to the EPA, for every single ton of paper produced, it requires 7,000 gallons of water, 360 gallons of oil and 158 million BTU’s of energy and as much as two to four tons of trees to yield that one ton of paper. Seems counterproductive doesn’t it?

What is even more frustrating is that an estimated near 3,000 tons of tissues and paper towels end up in US landfills every day. In addition, it can take as many as 51,000 trees per day to replace the number of paper towels that are discarded each day?

Therefore, while the average consumer may assume that paper towels don’t have a significant impact on the environment, researchers have found that the environmental impact of paper towels, even recycled ones, can be detrimental because when paper rots in our landfills it emits methane, which contributes to global warming. Over its lifetime, just one hand dryer will produce 3 tons less CO2 than the production of paper towels it replaces.

World Dryer’s high speed hand dryers are specifically designed to help conserve our natural resources. They were engineered to use up to 88% less energy than traditional dryers and 40-60% less than most competitive high-speed dryers.

Additional good news: Our products qualify for LEEDs Credits

The building management world is buzzing about LEED certification and rightfully so. The goal of LEED certified buildings is to provide healthier work environments, contributing to higher productivity and improved employee health and comfort, as well as the savings incurred over time due to the lower-than-industry-standard operational costs.

In developing the intelligent, flexible technology, World Dryer took into consideration that LEED certification was a high priority to builders. Both SMARTdri and SLIMdri are GreenSpec certified and their high efficient technology fully supports green building and offers a low environmental impact by virtually eliminating waste and maintenance and delivering a more hygienic restroom environment.

The bottom line

While the initial investment of hand dryers versus paper towels may be perceived as higher, the efficiency of our SMARTdri, SLIMdri, VMax and VERDEdri hand dryers can help you realize long-term economic and environmental savings. With World Dryer’s high speed hand dryers, you're doing your part to not only save the environment by conserving energy consumption and keeping waste out of landfills, but you are also reducing maintenance costs by eliminating germ-filled waste on the floors, overflowing trashcans and toilets clogged by paper towels. The result? Peace of mind as well as a cleaner, more sanitary facility for both your customers and your employees. And you really can’t put a price on that.