New Channel for Recycling Gets Great Reception
Read the stories behind Kimberly-Clark's progress and our entire 2014 Sustainability Report.
Floor to ceiling garbage bags, rows of waste bins and an old warehouse may not depict an art museum at first glance, but it’s a place Carolina Lizano Fernández calls beautiful.
As the corporate social responsibility coordinator for Kimberly-Clark’s Central America & Caribbean region, Lizano acts as a museum curator of sorts. She helps manage AmbientaDOS, a recycling program that has transformed light bulbs, bottle caps, paperboard and other discarded material into jewelry, ornaments and colorful lamps – among other new things.
Together with Teletica, one of Costa Rica’s top TV stations, Kimberly-Clark established AmbientaDOS to help make the concept of “reuse and recycle” viable in Costa Rica. What started at a single location now includes more than 30 collection centers across Costa Rica operated by various business partners and community associations. Twice a month, recyclable waste is collected at centers across the country. Since the program began in 2009, enough waste has been collected to prevent 2,000 garbage trucks from entering landfills.
Garbage to some is a valuable resource to others
Recycled materials can become many things in addition to art; Kimberly-Clark uses this material in its products. Through AmbientaDOS, Kimberly-Clark buys back thousands of tons of recycled paper, carton and other types of waste paper to manufacture products that are more environmentally preferred. Many of Kimberly-Clark’s products are a blend of fiber from sustainably managed forests, alternative or non-wood fibers, and fiber from recycled paper. This combination allows Kimberly-Clark to make products that meet people’s essential needs while being responsible stewards of the environment. Because this required a supply chain of recyclable material, Kimberly-Clark laid the foundation for AmbientaDOS.
Click here to continue reading more stories behind Kimberly-Clark's progress and our entire 2014 Sustainability Report.
Media contacts:
Terry Balluck
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
+1.972.281.1397
Natalie Turner
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Natalie.Turner@kcc.com
