Innovative Kimberly-Clark Recycling Program Helps Two Midwestern Universities Turn Used Gloves into Eco-Responsible Durable Goods

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Purdue University have diverted almost six tons of waste from landfills through an innovative recycling program that turns used lab gloves and garments into shelving, flowerpots and lawn and garden furniture.

Both institutions were looking for ways to reduce their solid waste streams and enhance their sustainability efforts. They found it in a program called RightCycle by Kimberly-Clark Professional, the first large-scale recycling program for non-hazardous lab and industrial waste.

Since its inception in 2011, RightCycle has diverted more than 350 metric tons of waste from landfills. In its first year, it diverted two tons of waste. The number of customers participating in the program has significantly increased, from just a handful at the start to almost 200 as of July 2016. Kimberly-Clark Professional is continuing to expand the program – bringing it to Western Europe and exploring expansion into other regions.

“We pioneered this program because we recognized that the sustainability goals of our university and pharmaceutical customers included reducing landfill waste, and single-use gloves accounted for a large percentage of that waste,” said Randy Kates, director of the Kimberly-Clark Professional Global Scientific Business. “We needed to find a recycling solution that helped them achieve their goals and enabled their people to be positively engaged in the process.”

RightCycle removes gloves, masks, garments, shoe covers and other apparel accessories from the waste stream and turns them into plastic pellets. These are then used to create eco-responsible consumer products and durable goods, such as lawn furniture, flowerpots and planters, shelving, totes and storage bins.
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