Kimberly-Clark Professional Adds Safety Eyewear To Its Innovative RightCycle Program

Roswell, GA /PRNewswire/ -- Kimberly-Clark Professional has further expanded its innovative recycling program, The RightCycle Program, to include protective eyewear from labs, cleanrooms and industrial facilities.

The RightCycle Program is the first large-scale recycling program for non-hazardous lab, cleanroom and industrial waste. Since its launch in 2011, the program has diverted more than 500 tons of waste from landfills by sending used nitrile gloves and apparel to recyclers in the United States where they are turned into plastic pellets that are used to create new consumer goods.

Now, used eyewear also will be given a second life. This is the third category of single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) that can be recycled through the program, joining nitrile gloves and single-use apparel and accessories.

"Our customers are looking for ways to remove nontraditional items from their solid waste streams," said Jill Walter, eye protection category manager, Kimberly-Clark Professional. "Protective eyewear is an important addition to The RightCycle Program because it can make up a significant portion of waste for scientific and industrial facilities. For a facility with 200 employees who get a new pair of safety glasses on each shift, that's an estimated 1.3 metric tons of annual waste, or the weight of over 88 car tires, which can now be diverted from the landfill."

The four product families of Kimberly-Clark Professional safety eyewear that can be recycled through the program include Nemesis, Visio, Element and Unispec – with a wide range of coverage, from simple visitor's glasses to those that protect workers in heavy production environments.

To learn more about The RightCycle Program, visit www.kcprofessional.com/rightcycle.

About Kimberly-Clark Professional
Kimberly-Clark Professional partners with businesses to create Exceptional Workplaces, helping to make them healthier, safer and more productive. Key brands in this segment include: Kleenex, Scott, WypAll, Kimtech and Jackson Safety. To see how Kimberly-Clark Professional is helping people around the world to work better, please visit www.kcprofessional.com.

About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its trusted brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Fueled by ingenuity, creativity, and an understanding of people's most essential needs, we create products that help individuals experience more of what's important to them. Our portfolio of brands, including Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, Kotex, Cottonelle, Poise, Depend, Andrex, Pull-Ups, GoodNites, Intimus, Neve, Plenitud, Viva and WypAll, hold the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in 80 countries. We use sustainable practices that support a healthy planet, build stronger communities, and ensure our business thrives for decades to come. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the company's 146-year history of innovation, visit kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.