c/o Soren Stokes
The University has removed paper towels from all residential buildings—with the exception of bathrooms located near lounges—for the 2023–24 school year, according to Associate Director of Facilities Management Jeff Sweet. This policy, introduced in 2015, is returning after being suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19 and is aimed at reducing the amount of waste generated within residential facilities. This will also lighten the workload of cleaning staff and save the University money.
When paper towels were first eliminated from dorms eight years ago, it was done following waste audits conducted by the Office of Sustainability in Usdan University Center, Foss Hill dorms, and Fisk Hall. The audits found that paper towels made up 15% of all waste from these buildings.
“The decision in 2015 was made by the university in consultation with the Health Center as well as Student Services,” Sweet wrote in an email to The Argus. “Once all pandemic policies were lifted and the campus went back to pre-pandemic requirements on campus this policy was reviewed once again. It was decided that it was safe to return to no paper towels in traditional residential facilities and we implemented it for the fall of 2023.”
The University is still searching for more sustainable alternatives to paper towels.
“The sanitary nature of reusable cloth dispensers is in question from the research I’ve seen, and hand dryers are too noisy for a dorm environment,” Director of Sustainability Jen Kleindienst wrote in an email to The Argus.
Some students have raised concerns about the removal, citing their use in bathrooms and other residential areas. WestCo Resident Advisor (RA) Omri Riss Chbarbi ’25 noted that some of his residents have voiced discontent and have suggested buying their own paper towels.
“Paper towels should be available to the community, for community reasons,” Chbarbi said. “Something that us RAs talk a lot about is that if someone throws up in a bathroom, we’re supposed to call Public Safety, but a lot of people want to try to clean up their own throw up or their own mess. Or what if you spill something in your room?”
Some students find the distribution of the bathrooms that do have paper towels to be unfair.
“I think it’s really stupid to have no paper towels, since other buildings have paper towels,” Lance Bridge ’27 said. “Because if one building doesn’t have them, then everyone shouldn’t. And we have them in guest bathrooms. I have to wipe my hands on my pants or walk with them dripping wet down the hallway. Also, if we had paper towels it would be easier to clean up after yourself. Removing them is a good idea but there’s better ways to go about it. Maybe people won’t wash their hands because they don’t have anything to dry them with.”
The paper towel removal does gather some support from those who see them as unnecessary, and appreciate the step toward broader sustainability on campus.
“I support it, because why are we wasting paper when you can dry your hands in other ways?” Waste Not Coordinator Jazmin Alvarez ’26 said. “It’s a good thing we eliminated it, since it’s just more sustainable.”
Gray Carver ’27 agreed with Alvarez.
“I don’t mind not having paper towels,” Carver said. “I usually forget my own towel, have wet hands, but they dry by the time I get back to my room. I realized how little paper towels are needed in my life. We can survive without them.”
The removal is accompanied by other sustainability initiatives such as the return of campus-wide public composting, the continuation of the XtraMile shuttle service, and the addition of electric vehicle charging stations. The University also plans to reduce fossil fuel and greenhouse gas usage. So far, it has converted a third of its heat transfer system from steam to hot water, which is projected to reduce total carbon footprint by 30–35%. The University has committed to reach carbon neutrality by 2035.
Spencer Landers can be reached at sklanders@wesleyan.edu.
Eden Richman can be reached at erichman@wesleyan.edu.