Bloomington, Ind. — Cook Medical has received a Chelsea Santucci Greenovation Award from Kimberly-Clark Professional. Cook won this award for its industry-leading efforts in recycling nitrile gloves.
Cook Medical was recognized for participating in The RightCycle Program, the first large-scale recycling program for non-hazardous lab, cleanroom, and industrial PPE. The program is designed to help pharmaceutical companies, research laboratories, and manufacturing facilities reduce their solid waste streams by enabling them to recycle nontraditional waste, such as apparel items, gloves, shoe covers, masks, and safety eyewear.
Kimberly-Clark Professional’s RightCycle program focuses on recycling personal protective equipment
These previously hard-to-recycle items are diverted from the waste stream and landfills and turned into new consumer goods, such as flowerpots, patio furniture and plastic shelving. Since 2011, participating laboratories, cleanrooms, and manufacturing facilities have diverted more than 1,600 tons of used PPE from landfills through The RightCycle Program.
“This award is a milestone in Cook’s commitment to reducing the amount of waste we send to landfills,” said Erin Kunkel, corporate social responsibility manager at Cook. “Nitrile gloves are essential for Cook employees to protect their hands as well as keep our products safe and clean for patients. Now that we’ve found a way to recycle them, we will continue to seek out ways to reduce or divert other waste streams to the benefit of employees, patients and the planet. We are honored that this award recognizes our innovative recycling efforts.”
Kimberly-Clark representative Don Brokop (far left) presents the Chelsea Santucci Greenovation Award to Cook Medical employees.
The Greenovation Awards were established in 2013 to honor the waste diversion efforts of participants in The RightCycle Program. In 2015, the awards were renamed in honor of Chelsea Santucci, a Kimberly-Clark Professional employee who passed away of cancer at age 26. Santucci was passionate about sustainability and instrumental in the creation of The RightCycle Program and the company hopes her legacy will live on through these awards.
“Cook Medical has diverted a significant amount of waste from landfills via The RightCycle Program,” said Rob Hughes, vice president of Kimberly-Clark Professional. “They have earned this award for their outstanding sustainability efforts and for helping to make their workplaces exceptional.”
About Kimberly-Clark Professional
Kimberly-Clark Professional partners with businesses to create Exceptional Workplaces, helping to make them healthier, safer and more productive. Key brands in this segment include: Kleenex, Scott, WypAll, Kimtech and KleenGuard. Kimberly-Clark Professional, located in Roswell, Georgia, is one of three Kimberly-Clark business sectors. To see how Kimberly-Clark Professional is helping people around the world to work better, please visit www.kcprofessional.com.
About Cook Medical
Since 1963, Cook Medical has worked closely with physicians to develop technologies that eliminate the need for open surgery. Today we invent, manufacture and deliver a unique portfolio of medical devices to the healthcare systems of the world. Serving patients is a privilege, and we demand the highest standards of quality, ethics and service. We have remained family owned so that we have the freedom to focus on what we care about: patients, our employees and our communities.
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