Client: Stroud District Council
Type of works: supply and installation of Dyson Airblade™ hand dryers.

For Rob Griffiths, Facilities Management Officer with Stroud District Council, cutting down on waste and improving energy efficiency are crucial to meeting environmental targets.

“We had been spending up to £3,500 per year on paper towels across 25 washrooms,” he explains. “And the old warm air hand dryers we had just weren’t efficient. They were taking up to 30 seconds to dry your hands, which, as you can imagine, wasn’t very energy-efficient.”

Stroud District Council looked at a number of options for upgrading the hand drying facilities in their washrooms. “I’d heard of the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer before,” says Rob, “and I first used one at a shopping centre in Bristol, so we arranged to trial two of them at our offices.”

The trial went down well with council employees. “95% of our staff preferred the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer to anything else we tried,” says Rob. “It dries your hands much faster, and the hygienic aspect is important too. We also liked the way Dyson gave us the option to purchase outright, which is what we generally prefer to do.”

Of prime importance, though, was the reduction in carbon footprint offered by the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer. “We’re part of the Carbon Management Programme,” explains Rob, “so we’re always looking at ways to lower our environmental impact. The Dyson Airblade™ hand dryers help us meet central government targets.”

To support Stroud District Council in its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, Dyson worked with the authority’s marketing team to produce co-branded backboards on the subjects of landfill and energy-efficiency. The Dyson Airblade™ hand dryers purchased by the council quickly attracted media attention, and were featured in a local newspaper in March 2009.

Stroud District Council has also installed the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer at The Museum in the Park, and is planning further installations at other sites over the coming year.