DuPont, Waste Management launch Tyvek recycling program in US

DuPont Nonwovens and Waste Management have launched a national mail-in recycling program to capture banners, envelopes and other items printed on DuPont Tyvek. The program provides a way for printers and other large volume users of printed products to keep Tyvek out of landfills.

Once recycled, Tyvek items will be used for products such as decking, playground equipment and corrugated pipes. The program answers a growing need for the return of printed materials including signs, banners and posters, as well as envelopes, wristbands and racing bibs into existing recycle streams.For more information on ordering recycling kits, visit http://recycletyvek.wm.com.

The program also allows DuPont’s customers to track on-line what they have ordered, the weight of each package that was returned and an aggregate total for each year.

“Tyvek is a unique recyclable product made of high-density polyethylene that can be reused in many ways,” says Carolyn Burns, marketing manager, DuPont Nonwovens.“This new alliance with Waste Management will allow us to provide another easy way to recycle used Tyvek products. DuPont’s existing program has recycled more than a million pounds to date, and our goal is to increase the amount of Tyvek recycled annually in the United States.”

For more than 20 years, DuPont has had a program in place to capture and recycle Tyvek envelopes at its plant in Richmond, VA, USA, and recycles approximately 50,000 pounds annually at the site. The Waste Management alliance will allow DuPont to expand the program in the US and make it easier for customers to recycle their used banners, envelopes and other products. DuPont has an established recycling program in Asia and has plans to expand it as well. Tyvek is made from 100 percent recyclable polyethylene.

“We’re proud to help make the recycling of printed Tyvek easier for customers throughout the United States,” said Robert Dishman, director, Waste Management. “As a leading North American recycler, we’re committed to growing recycling throughout the country for both our commercial and residential customers and our corporate goal of nearly tripling the amount of recyclables we process from 8 million to 20 million tons by 2020.”

Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, TX, USA, is a provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America.Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also a developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the US.The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers throughout North America.To learn more, visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.