Personal protective equipment, or PPE, has been widely used in the workplace for many years to protect employees from health or safety risks. But since the outbreak of COVID-19, the use of PPE has skyrocketed.
While this protective clothing ensures the safety of the workforce, what about the effect that the increased production and subsequent disposal of this PPE are having on the environment?
Textile destruction and recycling service
In the UK, approximately one million tonnes of clothing is disposed of every year and 10,000 items of clothing are sent to landfills every five minutes. This is approximately 30% of all clothing. But Granite Workwear, which supplies PPE to Hardstaff Barriers, a UK manufacturer and supplier of vehicle restraint systems (VRS) and security barriers, has come up with a perfect solution.
Granite, an ISO14001-certified company, has launched its very own textile destruction and recycling service for workwear and PPE when it reaches the end of its life.
Protecting workers and the environment
Granite Workwear destroys all clothing, including boots and belts, by recycling it into new fibers
Granite Workwear destroys all clothing, including boots and belts, by recycling it into new fibers, for a variety of products including new fabrics. Plastics from safety glasses and helmets are re-chipped for re-use in the plastic industry.
Metals from studs, buttons, zips, and toe caps and melted down for reuse. The only product that it cannot recycle is the high visibility tape, which goes to incineration. The service is carried out by Granite at no cost, with customers simply needing to send the clothing back to them.
Recycling old branded uniforms
The company takes great care when recycling old branded uniforms, ensuring that the process is carefully managed and that the old workwear does not get into the wrong hands.
Kathryn Cooper, Service Manager at Hardstaff Barriers, said, “We are delighted that we can not only protect our workforce and customers through the use of quality PPE, but we can rest assured that we are not damaging the environment when the workwear is no longer fit for use. We’re pleased to be teaming up with Granite Workwear to ensure that the whole process is safe, considered, and environmentally friendly from start to finish.”
Sustainable and circular economy
Simon Towle, Director at Granite Workwear, said, “We started the service as we take sustainability and the environment very seriously.”
“As far as we know, we are also the first company to offer complete recycling and re-tasking of all workwear and PPE products that have been purchased from us, ensuring a fully circular economy and not just a recycling economy.”
