Kimberly-Clark Professional has expanded The RightCycle Programme to the Netherlands and Switzerland. The RightCycle Programme is the first large-scale recycling effort for non-hazardous lab, cleanroom, and industrial personal protective equipment (PPE) waste.
Originating in the U.S. with a few scientific manufacturing customers, the RightCycle Programme is now available in 11 countries, with a wide range of customers that includes universities and research institutions, pharmaceutical, and biotech companies, as well as manufacturing facilities and other businesses. Since 2011, it has helped hundreds of customers divert more than 2,000 metric tons of PPE waste.
“Expanding the geographic reach of The RightCycle Programme will enable more of our customers to divert PPE waste from landfills to give these products a second life,” says Ashley Davis, global sustainability manager, Kimberly-Clark Professional. “This is part of our ongoing commitment to help our customers reduce their environmental footprint and to deliver on our purpose of Better Care for a Better World.”
The RightCycle Programme collects previously hard-to-recycle PPE, such as garments, masks, and gloves. These items are then recycled by regional partners that create new plastic pellets, which are used to produce consumer products and other durable goods.
In 2021, the company expanded The RightCycle Programme in Europe to other categories to include the recycling of plastic dispensers and hand towels. In 2022, it expanded the programme in the U.S. and Canada to accept flex-film plastic packaging from Kimtech™ and KleenGuard™ products. This will provide Kimberly-Clark Professional with a greater opportunity to reduce its environmental footprint in collaboration with its customers.
