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Don't throw away paper towels.

Every American uses around a dozen sheets of paper towel a day to dry hands after washing them. That adds up to a huge number of trees being cut down even if some paper is recycled. A more environmentally friendly way is to do what many people in the past did - keep a beautiful clothe handkerchief in your pocket or purse. You can easily dry hands with it and after a few days of use throw it in your laundry to clean and re-use. I have been practicing it and it works great.

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Angela Kim is the Marketplace Public Insight analyst. She is responsible for outreach efforts that engage the public and encourage them to share their insights on topics Marketplace covers via social media, multimedia projects, and the Public Insight Network. Follow Kim on Twitter @angelaishere
Paul Still's picture
Paul Still - Dec 23, 2010

If you do use paper towels or get a stack of napkins with your burger just take them home and use them instead of toilet paper. I haven’t used toilet paper for 2 years by using this technique.

sasanka Pulipati's picture
sasanka Pulipati - Jan 15, 2011

Best thing is to carry a handkerchief. If you don't have one, and are using the toilet paper. just use one. Don't just take a bunch of papers and throw them.