Handkerchief or tissue? Which one's better for our health and the planet?

By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
Hester Joyce, Adjunct Associate Professor, Creative Arts, La Trobe University

Maybe you have hay fever, COVID, a cold or the flu, and are reaching for a tissue or handkerchief.

But which one’s better at stopping infections spreading? Which has a smaller environmental impact? Is it the hanky, which has been with us since at least Roman times? Or the more recent and widely-used paper tissue?

You might be surprised at the results.

Read more: Health Check: what's the right way to blow your nose? …

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