Driving sustainability through circular PPE and workwear solutions

For many businesses, PPE and workwear is essential, whether that be for brand image or health and safety. However, it can often cost organisations more than they realise, as well as having an additional environmental impact.  

Items are often disposed of long before they have reached the end of their life. Branding changes, new acquisitions, contract changes, surplus stock and inconsistent stock management result in perfectly usable PPE and workwear being discarded.  

The consequence is not only unnecessary waste, but also increased purchasing costs for your business, higher Scope 3 emissions, storage challenges and potential brand protection risks if branded garments leave the business. 

Reconomy Connect is offering a solution to this through our compliant circular solution. Our PPE and workwear solution prioritises reuse before recycling and offers a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative. Our approach is grounded in sustainability and centres around the principles of the circular economy. For every tonne of PPE and workwear processed, our circular solution can help offset up to 14.7 tonnes of Scope 4 avoided CO2e emissions through reuse and life extension. 

 

How does it work? 

Collection and Assessment 

The process begins with a national collection service, where your PPE and workwear is segregated and assessed according to what condition the items are in. We then identify whether items are suitable for reuse, refurbishment or recycling. 

Professional Decontamination 

All collected items undergo specialist laundering and sanitisation to remove dirt, oil and other contaminants while meeting strict hygiene standards. Our environmentally safe process disinfects and eliminates bacteria in the wash cycle killing 99.999% of all known germs and uses nearly 50% less resources than conventional wash processes.  

We work closely with PPE manufacturers and distributors, following recommended wash and drying temperatures to protect the integrity of fabrics, coatings and protective properties. 

Repair and Inspection 

If needed, minor repairs are carried out to extend garment life. Each item is then inspected using an accredited testing and verification process to ensure it is fit for reuse before being returned to service. 

Reuse and Redistribution 

Once restored to the best possible condition, garments can be returned to existing teams or redistributed across alternative sites, reducing the need for replacement purchases. 

Rebranding Solutions 

Despite our priorities lying with reuse and sending items back into service, not everything will be suitable for continued use. If an item is no longer able to be reused, it can be responsibly recycled. We offer textile recycling, plastic recycling and footwear recycling.  

To protect brand integrity while extending garment life, we can overprint existing logos, rebrand garments, or debadge them completely so the items are unbranded. This allows organisations to continue using the items without outdated or incorrect branding circulating externally. 

Responsible Recycling 

Examples of how we use the recycled materials include: 

• Hard hats, safety glasses and boots can be granulated for use in products such as sewage pipe liners and rubber matting. 

• Textiles can be shredded to create insulation materials. 

• High-vis garments can be repurposed into roof garden membranes and pond liners. 

Why are organisations adopting circular workwear and PPE programmes? 

More businesses are recognising that PPE and workwear management is not just a financial and efficiency problem, it is also an environmental one. 

Key benefits of using our circular workwear and PPE solution include: 

• Extending the life of PPE and workwear through reuse, repair and redistribution reduces the amount spent on new items. 

• Lower carbon emissions and reduced Scope 3 emissions. 

• Improve circularity which can also support your net zero goals. 

• Ensures branded garments don’t get out through rebranding, debadging and compliant end-of-life destruction.  

• Improves stock efficiency by redeploying existing items across sites and reduce unnecessary replacement purchases. 

• We offer full traceability for all our auditable processes we do with access to our reporting and sustainability data to support compliance and ESG reporting. 

 

By utilising Reconomy Connect’s circular PPE and workwear solution, organisations can extend product life, reduce replacement costs, lower emissions and protect their brand, all while keeping materials in productive use for longer. 

Our solutions helps turn PPE and workwear from a waste stream into a new resource. Through collection, refurbishment, redeployment and recovery, valuable materials are kept in circulation for as long as possible rather than being sent directly to disposal. 

 

To find out more about this service, get in touch today!  

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