The disposable gloves and gowns that are necessary equipment in the laboratory or manufacturing facility eventually end up in landfills. However, our participation in a pilot recycling project has proven that disposable protection does not have to be consigned to the garbage. In 2018, Promega Madison received the Chelsea Santucci Greenovation Award from Kimberly-Clark Professional for diverting 6,187 pounds of waste from landfills in 2017. During 2018, we diverted nearly 8,000 pounds (3.6 metric tons) of gloves and garments through participating in the RIGHTCYCLE program.
The award recognized Promega for being involved in The RightCycle Program, the first large-scale recycling program for nonhazardous lab, cleanroom and industrial waste. This program is designed to help pharmaceutical companies, research laboratories and manufacturing facilities reduce their solid waste streams by recycling nontraditional waste, such as garments, gloves, hoods, boot covers, masks and now safety eyewear.
These previously hard-to-recycle items are diverted from the waste stream and landfills and turned into the raw materials used to create ecoresponsible consumer products and durable goods. Since 2011, participating laboratories, cleanrooms and manufacturing facilities have diverted more than 600 tons of garment, glove and other waste from landfills through The RightCycle Program.
As a recipient of a Chelsea Santucci Greenovation Award, Promega was presented with a planter made from 4,500 recycled nitrile gloves.