Pa. Turnpike removing paper towel dispensers from service plazas in aim to be first sustainable superhighway
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Paper towel dispensers are being removed from service plazas on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in an aim to be the first sustainable superhighway.
A concerned viewer raised the issue this week, so John Shumway took that complaint and checked with the Turnpike.
William Harvey spends a lot of time each week for work driving on the Turnpike.
"I spend hundreds of dollars a week in Turnpike fees and this is just one more inconvenience that they're going to put on us," Harvey said. "This is infuriating."
From his Scenery Hill home, Harvey told KDKA about his experience of going into the Midway service plaza, washing his hands and face, and discovering that there were no paper towel dispensers.
But because he was wet, he had to go into the concession area to get napkins to dry his face with.
The Turnpike says this is no mistake.
"Slowly but surely, we are going to be making the conversion away from paper towels in favor of in favor of the the blow dryers," said Carl DeFebo, Director of Marketing and Media Relations with the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
"I've tried using those dryers to dry my face," Harvey said. "They don't work great on your hands, let alone your face."
"We're hopeful that we'll be able to convert to some of the ones where the nozzle moves up," DeFebo said.
DeFebo says that this is all part of an effort to become America's first sustainable superhighway by 2040.
The removal of paper towel dispensers is aimed at reducing litter and other side effects of paper towels.
"They're biodegradable they're made of post consumer product," Harvey said. "So that argument really doesn't hold water."
Harvey worries about families traveling with small children and the need to clean up a mess if you spill.
"I'm thinking about truck drivers who just need to throw some water on their face," Harvey said.
"Overall, the value of and the benefit to the environment, I think, you know, outweighs many of these concerns," DeFebo said.
"I hope everybody that sees this calls them and tells them that it's not a good idea," Harvey said.
DeFebo says that there are 17 service plazas in the Turnpike system and the transition away from towels will be gradual over the next few months.
A public effort to get the paper towel dispensers to stay in place is unlikely to have an impact, however.
DeFebo says this is a done deal and it's keeping with the Turnpike Commission's push towards a sustainable future.