Recycling Program Expands to Manufacturing, Industrial Customers

Kimberly-Clark Professional has expanded its recycling program to manufacturing and other industrial environments, enabling these customers to divert non-hazardous waste, such as nitrile gloves and apparel, from landfills.

RightCycle is a large-scale recycling program for non-hazardous lab, cleanroom and industrial waste. Since its launch in 2011, the program has diverted more than 300 tons of waste from landfills, the company says.

The items are sent to recyclers in the US and turned into nitrile powder and pellets that are used to create consumer products and durable goods, such as flowerpots and lawn furniture, benches and bicycle racks.

“By recycling rather than discarding nitrile gloves and single-use apparel, customers can divert these hard-to-recycle waste streams from the landfill in order to get one step closer to achieving their zero waste goals while reducing their waste disposal costs at the same time,” said Kimberly-Clark Professional’s John R. Adams, industrial business leader, in a statement.

RightCycle enables customers to recycle thin mil nitrile gloves, apparel (including accessories such as hoods, masks, shoe covers and other items) and Kimtech Pure 100 percent polypropylene wipers. To qualify for the program, the items must be free of hazardous materials, biohazards and wet food.

At least one program participant, Lundberg Family Farms of Richvale, California, credits the program with helping it achieve a Platinum Zero Waste Facility Certification from the US Zero Waste Business Council.

Gloves previously represented about 15 percent of the company’s landfill waste. By participating in the RightCycle program, Lundberg Family Farms now expects to divert 4 tons of glove waste annually. The company recycled about 1 ton of nitrile gloves in its first few months in the RightCycle program.