Essity Recycled 500 Million Paper Towels in 2025
The company expanded its Tork PaperCircle recycling service by 33 percent across Europe last year.
Updated on Oct. 14, 2026 in Home Cleaning
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In 2025, Essity successfully processed more than 500 million used paper hand towels through its Tork PaperCircle initiative. This milestone followed a 33 percent increase in the number of customer sites participating in the recycling program throughout the year.
Why it matters
The program helps organizations reduce waste and meet sustainability goals by transforming used hand towels into new tissue products. By processing these materials, the company supports a circular economy model within its manufacturing plants.
The Tork PaperCircle service operates across 15 European markets and currently handles 35 million hand towels monthly. Additionally, the pilot program known as DispenserCircle successfully repurposed 240,000 soap, toilet paper, and hand towel dispensers.
The players
Essity
This global hygiene and health company produces personal care, consumer tissue, and professional hygiene products.
Tork
This is a global brand owned by Essity that specializes in professional hygiene products and services for various industries.
The details
The service functions by collecting discarded hand towels from client facilities and transporting them to manufacturing plants to be repurposed into new hygiene goods. Essity continues to integrate these recycled fibers into its production lines to minimize raw material usage.
Timeline
Essity first introduced the Tork PaperCircle service in 1994.
The program earned recognition at the European Paper Recycling Awards in 2017.
The initiative received the Interclean Amsterdam Visitor Choice Award in 2018.
The German Ecodesign Award was presented to the program in 2024.
Essity expanded sites and reached the 500 million towel recycling total in 2025.
Culture Shift
The program reflects a broader corporate shift toward circular economy models where waste is viewed as a renewable raw material. This transition aligns with growing industrial pressures to move away from linear consumption patterns that rely on virgin fibers.
Businesses and organizations utilizing these services can directly lower their operational waste output. Facility managers may see changes in internal waste collection routines as they transition to the specialized recycling containers required for the service.
The takeaway
Organizations looking to improve their environmental footprint should investigate closed-loop recycling services that handle high-volume waste like paper towels. Implementing such systems can significantly divert landfill mass while supporting corporate social responsibility targets.
Further reading
Learn more about the latest innovations in Home Cleaning to improve your household sustainability practices.
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