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How Uncontrolled Use of Folded Towels Costs Money and Creates Waste

Individual paper towels come in different folds: singlefold, multifold, and C-fold. Singlefold has one fold, multifold two folds. A C-fold towel is approximately 13" x 10" when fully opened and flat, which rarely happens when it is used, The flat towel consists of three different folds (hence, opening up into a "C"), and the final, folded piece is a rectangle measuring about 10" in length and 3 1/2" in width.

Did you ever observe how people pull out folded paper towels by the fistful just to wipe their hands? If a cup of coffee is spilled one or two people run off to grab enormous amounts of folded towels as if a gallon of liquid had been spilled. The easy accessibility of folded towels makes them readily available to grab by the handful. In contrast, hardwound roll towels combined with controlled-use dispensers control the amount provided and save huge amounts of paper - 25 to 35%. Roll towels also require up to 80% less packaging. In most applications, roll towel dispensers need to be refilled far less often than folded towel dispensers, saving on maintenance time. Moreover, roll towels are more compact, requiring less storage space.

- Green Seal's Choose Green Report