Plastic-free core plugs in Kimberly-Clark Professional’s branded hand towel range across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa increase cleaning professionals’ efficiency and improve businesses’ recycling rates.
Kimberly-Clark Professional™ is the first manufacturer to introduce 100% bio-based and recyclable core plugs in its Scott® and Kleenex® hand towel ranges across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The plastic-free core plugs are made primarily from starch and fibre, replacing plastic core plugs currently in use. It is estimated to reduce plastic by over 30 tons every year – the equivalent weight of 1.5 million plastic bottles.
As with all of Kimberly-Clark Professional’s industry-leading washroom and wiper products and services, this product innovation is designed to help cleaning professionals improve efficiency and recycling rates while simplifying the waste management process.
When replacing the hand towel roll, cleaning professionals typically separate the card-based hand towel roll from the plastic core plug for their different disposal or recycling streams. With this new plastic-free core plug, there is no need for cleaning professionals to spend time separating the waste into paper and plastic, as the towel roll and plug can be disposed of together in paper recycling streams.
“I am proud that we are designing innovative products with circularity in mind and taking this step to eliminate unnecessary plastic in our hand towel range with this game-changing solution,” said Olena Neznal, Vice President for Kimberly-Clark Professional in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. “In doing so, we are reducing plastic waste, helping our customers improve their recycling rates, and saving cleaning professionals’ time.”
Kimberly-Clark Professional is launching this product innovation in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and will evaluate expansion into other markets as part of the company’s global 2030 sustainability goals.
Kimberly-Clark set a goal to reduce its plastic footprint by 50% by 2030 by using less virgin, fossil-fuel-based plastic and more recycled, renewable, or degradable materials while finding ways to support the transition to a circular economy. This contributes to the company’s global ambition to improve the lives of 1 billion people in underserved communities around the globe by 2030 with the smallest environmental footprint.
Aligned with this strategy, Kimberly-Clark Professional™ is committed to helping customers achieve their environmental aspirations by elevating workplaces with the highest sustainability standards. Almost three-quarters (73%) of UK businesses say reducing the environmental impact of their hygiene products guides their decision-making – a factor of great significance in the future.
The brains behind Kimberly-Clark Professional’s (KCP) new ground-breaking 100 percent bio-based and recyclable core plug is talented engineer Loic Wozny.
Loic joined the global personal care team 11 years ago and after various positions at the organisation is now Lead Engineer for Hand Towel, Bath Tissue and Wiper in the B2B division of Kimberly-Clark across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Loic enjoys playing a leading part in what he describes as KCP’s ‘engine room’ and his ultimate goal is to develop products that meet the high expectations of our customers.
Loic said: “Working in R&D allows you to be creative, while ensuring products meet our customers’ needs, and also being part of the ‘engine room’ of our company. So, this balance of technical matters and customer facing activities makes R&D one of the most versatile roles you can have.
“I think one of my strengths is to make different worlds work together, bringing technical insights to the business and fitting business needs into product development. What is inspiring is that I know I have an impact on our company’s future and also on our customers. I am making things that make a difference.”
Describing the journey to developing the core plug, Loic recalled: “The initial ambition was to be proactive about reducing plastic usage, so that we would comply with any requirements of the UK/EU plastic pacts, as well as the French AGEC law. We originally thought of using bio-plastics as an alternative material, but after consulting customers we realised segregating the plug and core was not straightforward and may impact on their recycling targets”.
He added: “So I decided to change the project scope and go 100 percent natural. This was a challenge, and the business were supportive of this change in scope. The biggest benefit of our new product is the reduced environmental impact, as we will now avoid using 30.5 tonnes of plastic. The other big advantage is that we will help increase our customers’ recycling rates as we have made it easier for them to recycle plug and core together”.
The creation of a 100 percent natural product is something Loic is particularly proud of as, he believes, sustainability must now be mandatory, and not just a nice to have, in the corporate world.
“Our planet is suffering from our human impact,” reflects Loic. “I desperately want my daughter to live in a better world. I try to do my part, personally, and at work, as I have the chance to be able to change things and to influence to make them better”.
To see how Kimberly-Clark Professional™ is helping people around the world to work better, please visit www.kcprofessional.com.