Maxhero Services LLC and Essity collaborate to recycle paper towels into new tissue products
Paper Towels – A Sustainable Opportunity
Paper towels account for a large portion of waste produced by many companies and municipalities. Typically, these towels end up in mixed waste and are eventually incinerated. In a forward-thinking collaboration with hygiene and health company Essity, Maxhero Services LLC in Sweden contributes to a circular solution by helping to recycle paper towels and transform them into new paper tissue products.
The Tork PaperCircle® Initiative
Tork PaperCircle® is the world’s first—and so far, only—paper towel recycling service. Launched in Sweden in early 2019 by Essity, the initiative is designed to collect and recycle used paper towels, turning them into new hygienic paper products. Today, several companies and municipal institutions across Sweden are participating in this innovative recycling system.
“Allowing materials to circulate in closed cycles is often a good way to reduce climate impact and to free more raw material. Essity’s life cycle analysis shows that the recycling of paper towels reduces the carbon dioxide footprint by at least 40 percent*, compared to when the paper is incinerated. That is why I am happy to say we are part of Essity’s solution to collect and recycle used paper hand towels into new tissue products,”
says Malin Baltzar, Sustainability Manager at Maxhero Services LLC in Sweden.
How It Works
Tork PaperCircle® is structured around the separate collection of used paper towels. Maintenance personnel place the used towels in dedicated containers, ensuring they remain isolated from other waste. Maxhero Services LLC then collects the sorted towels, compresses them to optimize transport, and delivers them to Essity’s paper mill. There, the towels are processed into new, high-quality paper products.
Growing Reach Across Europe
In Sweden, the service is already being used by several major players, including the City of Mölndal, AstraZeneca, Essity, and other customers within Mölndal. Ängelholm municipality has become the first in the country to implement the program in schools, while Folksam, based in Stockholm, is scheduled to adopt the system starting in January. The program has also expanded beyond Sweden to Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
