Kimberly-Clark Professional has expanded The RightCycle Programme to the Netherlands and Switzerland, bringing the total number of countries in which it is available across Europe and North America to eleven.
The RightCycle Programme is a large-scale recycling effort for non-hazardous lab, cleanroom, and industrial personal protective equipment (PPE) waste. Originating in the US with a few scientific manufacturing customers, the programme now boasts a wide range of customers including universities and research institutions, pharmaceutical, biotech companies and manufacturing facilities. As well as the US, the Netherlands and Switzerland, the programme is available in Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria and Spain. 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,” said 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. The 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 Programme in Europe to include the recycling of plastic dispensers and hand towels. In 2022, it expanded the programme in the US and Canada to accept flex-film plastic packaging from Kimtech and KleenGuard products.
The RightCycle Programme contributes to Kimberly-Clark’s global 2030 ambition to improve the lives of one billion people in underserved communities around the globe with the smallest environmental footprint. The company is focused on the areas where it believes I can can make the biggest difference – including climate, forests, water and plastics.
To learn more about The RightCycle Programme, visit www.kimtech.eu/rightcycle.
