Kimberly-Clark Professional* Partners With TerraCycle to Help Customers Recycle Cleanroom Garments

First Business-to-Business Recycling Program for Non-Traditional Cleanroom Waste Streams

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Oct 06, 2011, 09:00 ET

ROSWELL, Ga., Oct. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimberly-Clark Professional*, a global leader in contamination control solutions for laboratories and cleanrooms, and TerraCycle, a leading "upcycling" company, have joined forces to help pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities recycle cleanroom garments, including coveralls, hoods, boot covers, hair nets and masks.

Through the collaboration, Kimberly-Clark Professional will become among the first to implement a large scale recycling program for non-traditional cleanroom waste streams, and TerraCycle will make its first voyage into the business-to-business market.

"We are constantly looking to offer our customers innovations that will positively impact their productivity and profitability while preserving the environment," said Heather Torrey, Scientific Customer and Channel Marketing Manager, Global Scientific Business at Kimberly-Clark Professional. "The recycling program with TerraCycle further extends our sustainability initiatives, saving time, materials and ultimately money."

"To partner with an industry leader like Kimberly-Clark Professional to launch our first business-to-business collection program is a fantastic opportunity," said Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO of TerraCycle. "Providing end-of-life solutions for previously difficult-to-recycle items from cleanrooms is an exciting new direction for TerraCycle and could have massive industry-wide impact."

Kimberly-Clark Professional customers can order this new recycling program through approved distributors. The package for customers will have everything needed to start recycling, including shipping, shipping materials, training materials, and all return shipping of the recycling package. TerraCycle will collect, convert and resell all waste materials as either bulk plastics or eco-friendly consumer products, and the company's bar code system will allow Kimberly-Clark Professional to track waste reduction and report that information back to each facility.

About TerraCycle

TerraCycle's purpose is to eliminate the idea of waste by creating national recycling systems for previously non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle waste. TerraCycle then converts the collected waste into a wide variety of products and materials. With more than 20 million people collecting waste in 17 countries TerraCycle has diverted billions of units of waste and used them to create more than 1,500 different products available at major retailers ranging from Walmart to Whole Foods Market. Founded in 2001, TerraCycle has grown into one of the fastest-growing green companies in the world.

About Kimberly-Clark Professional

Kimberly-Clark Professional is dedicated to providing essential solutions for a healthier, safer and more productive workplace. These include a unique portfolio of innovative, cost-effective and sustainable offerings for office buildings and lodging properties, healthcare facilities, manufacturing environments, laboratories and cleanrooms, educational facilities, food preparation and processing operations, and home professionals. Kimberly-Clark Professional offers a comprehensive array of hand hygiene and contamination control solutions to break the germ transmission chain and help create a healthier workplace as well as wiping and safety solutions that minimize risk and drive productivity. Its trusted global brands include Kleenex, Scott, Jackson Safety, WypAll and Kimtech. Located in Roswell, Ga., Kimberly-Clark Professional is one of Kimberly-Clark Corporation's four business sectors. For more information, visit www.kcprofessional.com.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people - nearly a quarter of the world's population - trust K-C 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 positions in more than 80 countries.

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Professional