Turning waste into resource

essity

background

No waste paper towels

Tork PaperCircle® is a unique recycling service for paper towels that minimizes environmental impact and maximizes business results. The service is available in several European markets.
Society today is faced with situations where the systems for creating products place new demands on material use, working conditions, business models and social benefit. In order to be able to develop the future's sustainable systems for recycling, these three dimensions must be developed in an integrated way. The challenge was to simplify the recycling process and come up with a profitable solution throughout the entire supply chain.
approach

Turning waste into resource

Together with Tork we redesigned the traditional, linear production and consumption processes of “take-make-waste” and bent that shape into a closed, circular loop. The end-of-life concept was replaced with recovery of consumed materials for reuse in new products and a multi stakeholder system was designed. Curiously through the process.

Our approach to an efficient resource recovery led us to the restroom facilities. It was discovered that an important piece of the puzzle was consumers discarding used paper towels in the correct bins.

By adopting behavioral insights, we encourage consumers to help the recycling program by designing a surrounding that promotes desired behaviors. The pilots for testing the new service were so successful that the participating companies continued using the service even before the final design phase was completed.

Impact

Changed behavior in waste management
Reduced the amount of waste by up to 20% and reduced carbon dioxide emissions from used hand towels by up to 40%
A profitable multi stakeholder system setup for the entire supply chain, creating new collaborations and innovative processes.
Want to create a more sustainable system but not sure where to begin?
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