Through a large-scale recycling program called RightCycle, Kimberly-Clark Professional (KCP) has helped divert 137,000 lb of disposable garments and 45,000 lb of nitrile gloves from landfills. The program allows cleanroom employees to deposit their used gloves, hoods, boot covers and hairnets in collection boxes where they are delivered to TerraCycle, KCP's partner company that recycles the otherwise landfill-bound items into useable products such as composite decking, park benches and chairs. Through this program, KCP is providing a more long-term solution to its own waste-generation and helping to pave the way for a more sustainably conscious corporate world."By recycling more than 90 tons of garments and gloves since the program began, we have helped our customers achieve or exceed their corporate social responsibility and sustainability goals," says KCP's Randy Kates. "Our mission to create exceptional workplaces that are healthier, safer and more productive is inseparable from our commitment to protecting the environment. This program addresses both of these goals."
Since 2011, the KCP and TerraCycle partnership has made it simple and convenient for companies to recycle these previously non-recyclable waste streams, helping them meet zero-waste goals. The program is part of a larger goal by parent company Kimberly-Clark Corp. to send zero manufacturing waste to landfills by 2015. The company's Global Nonwovens Division has already worked to keep more than 99 percent of its manufacturing waste out of landfills.