Kimberly-Clark Professional Launches Innovative RightCycle Program To Recycle Single-Use Cleanroom and Laboratory Gloves and Garments

Goal is to expand an effort that has so far diverted 70,000 pounds of waste from landfills

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Apr 25, 2013, 10:30 ET

ROSWELL, Ga., April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- To provide cleanrooms and laboratories with effective solutions to mitigate waste and enhance Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability efforts, Kimberly-Clark Professional has introduced RightCycle – the first large-scale recycling effort for nontraditional cleanroom waste.

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"Our customers have ambitious sustainability goals, yet often struggle with where and how to get started," said Randy Kates, Director, Global Scientific Business, Kimberly-Clark Professional. "We believe the most significant and enduring change occurs when team members are actively engaged in the solution. Our innovative RightCycle program offers a powerful and easy way for customers to exceed their solid waste reduction goals, while helping to make their workplaces healthier, safer and more productive."

The program takes recycling to a new level – beyond downcycling, upcycling and other approaches. It makes it easy to recycle previously hard-to-recycle items like cleanroom garments, gloves, hoods, boot covers and hairnets. Items are deposited in either a RightCycle collection box or in the client's own boxes. Full boxes are assembled onto pallets and picked up by Kimberly-Clark Professional recycling partner TerraCycle. After the products are collected, they are turned into raw materials and used to create useful, eco-friendly consumer products, such as plastic Adirondack chairs and benches, bulk plastics and other items.

Kimberly-Clark Professional is a global leader in contamination control solutions for cleanrooms and laboratories. It first announced its single-use garment recycling program in 2011 and completed successful pilots of a nitrile glove recycling program in 2012, which is now available nationwide. Since the recycling efforts began, participating cleanrooms and laboratories have diverted 70,000 pounds of garment, glove and other waste from landfills via the Kimberly-Clark Professional recycling programs. Life Technologies Corporation, a leading global life sciences company, is on track to recycle five tons of gloves in the first year.

The disposal of solid waste from manufacturing operations poses considerable challenges for businesses and society. Landfill options are becoming more limited and waste disposal costs continue to rise. In 2011, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the parent company for Kimberly-Clark Professional, announced it would be sending zero manufacturing waste to landfills by 2015. Since 2000, the company's Global Nonwovens Division, which develops and manufactures fabrics and materials used to create products such as protective apparel and face masks, has diverted more than 99 percent of its manufacturing waste from landfills. For more information about Kimberly-Clark's corporate sustainability goals visit: http://www.kimberly-clark.com/sustainability.aspx

For more information about the RightCycle program and other Kimberly-Clark Professional sustainability programs visit, www.kimtech.com/reducetoday or call 770-587-7615.

About Kimberly-Clark Professional
Kimberly-Clark Professional partners with businesses to create Exceptional Workplaces helping to make them safer, healthier, and more productive. Key brands in this segment include: Kleenex, Scott, WypAll, Kimtech, and Jackson Safety. Kimberly-Clark Professional, located in Roswell, Ga., is one of Kimberly-Clark Corporation's four business sectors. To see how we are helping people the world over work better, please visit www.kcprofessional.com.

About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust K-C's brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 141-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

About TerraCycle
TerraCycle, Inc. is an international upcycling and recycling company that takes difficult-to recycle-packaging and turns it into affordable, innovative products. Founded in 2001, TerraCycle is the world's leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable post-consumer waste. TerraCycle works with more than 40 major brands in the U.S. and around the world to collect used packaging and products that would otherwise be destined for landfills. It repurposes that waste into new, innovative materials and products that are available online and through major retailers. For more information, please visit www.terracycle.com.

Source: Kimberly-Clark Corp. [KMB-B]

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation