Tork: On a Mission to Take Back Paper Hand Towels

Oct 19, 2021 10:00 AM ET

Paper hand towels remain the most hygienic method of drying hands. Yet, they remain an untapped resource when it comes to recycling and recovering paper.

In fact, less than 1% of paper hand towels are recovered for recycling currently. The wet-strength composition required for paper hand towels to do their job necessitates a separate dissolving process to remove the wet-strong agent before the paper fibers can be recycled. This extra and separate step apart from other paper types makes recycling paper hand towels a difficult  proposition.

Recent technical innovations, however, have advanced the recovery and recycling rates of other paper materials. With the introduction of Tork PaperCircle® – the world’s first recycling service for used paper hand towels – Tork has managed to leverage these advancements to alter and renew the paper hand towel recycling story.

Announcing the release of our whitepaper, entitled “Paper hand towel circularity made possible”, where we are sharing valuable insights on how we have created a circular business model, what we learned along the way and how we can continue to develop circular business models – that reduce climate impact - in the future.  And how we can improve the <1% recovery rate. Help us to create a more sustainable and circular future!

Links to Report:

DE - Tork PaperCircle – der weltweit erste Recyclingservice für Papierhandtücher. | Tork DE

NL - Tork PaperCircle – ’s werelds eerste recyclingservice voor papieren handdoeken. | Tork NL

SE - Tork PaperCircle – världens första återvinningstjänst för pappershanddukar. | Tork SE

UK - Tork PaperCircle - the world’s first paper hand towel recycling service. | Tork UK

FR - Tork PaperCircle® - le premier service au monde de recyclage d’essuie-mains en papier. | Tork FR

DK - Tork PaperCircle er verdens første service for genbrug af papirhåndklæder. | Tork DK