After washing your hands in a public restroom, the ethical option would be to use the electric powered hand dryer installed along the bathroom wall instead of tree-falling paper towels. Although this option may benefit mother nature, the population’s health may be at risk. After testing the effects of hand dryers, the results show that hand dryers (especially “jet-air dryers”), actually spread germs around public restrooms.

Scientists implemented a study and revealed that the air around hand-dyers contained 27 times more bacteria than the air around paper towels. Not to mention, the bacteria lingers around the air drying vicinity for 15 minutes post drying — this means that you may be splattered with bacteria from the person who dried their hands before you. The moral decision would be to choose the eco-friendly alternative; nevertheless, when the alternative poses a risk to overall well-being, it’s best to stick with the paper towel option.