Surrey council to make £18k eco upgrades to offices

Runnymede Borough Council says spending £18,000 on 18 new electric hand driers will save money long term

A Surrey council is washing its hands of paper towels in favour of electric hand driers for staff.

Runnymede Borough Council will replace 22 hand towel dispensers at its Addlestone Civic Hall site on Station Road, Addlestone, with 18 standard driers to reduce "carbon and costs".

Last year the authority spent £12,000 on paper towels but said the £18,000 spend on new driers would save money in the long run.

The idea was initially raised in July 2024.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service , Councillor Isabel Mullins described the move as a "welcome idea from staff" and added that cost savings were "very much there".

The existing system was described as producing "large amounts of unrecyclable waste".

However, questions have been raised over why the authority was making the changes ahead of its potential dissolution.

Devolution plans, which would merge some boroughs and districts within the county to create new unitary authorities, are due to take place in 2027.