Aaaargh – just seen one of the weirdest, most wasteful and over engineered products ever…
Following a meeting / friendly catch up with Sam from Totem (during which we covered everything from business to our cunning plan to raise some charity money) I visited the loo. Fairly normal so far…
Upon exiting the toilet I came across the door handle pictured – yes it did warrant a picture.
As you can see, the manufacturer firstly thinks people are so dumb they are unlikely to be able to pull a handle (see the in-depth instructions behind) and secondly… This ingenious and highly wasteful device is covered in a thin layer of plastic. Once you have used the handle, the plastic sheeting disappears to be replaced by a fresh, clean layer.
I know that some people are incapable of washing their hands and there are some places you would rather not touch the door handles… but surely this is not the answer. More plastic wasted, more resources used and lets face it, the chap (or lady) who just used the door handle is fairly likely to walk outside and put their hand on the bar, a table, a chair… everything else.
Health, safety and hygiene are important, I don’t deny it but this really is a step too far… I wonder how much each unit costs and how long it will be before the hotel staff can no longer be bothered to refill the plastic. Maybe the time wasted could be better spent designing systems and products that improve the environment?