Used PPE disposal and recycling for businesses
We guide your company’s PPE into the circular economy.
Why can’t workplace PPE go into general waste?
At home, a glove or a face mask may end up in the general waste bin. At work, waste management requires correct classification and appropriate treatment.
Under the EU Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) and the national laws that implement it, waste produced by business activities must be classified and managed according to its origin and characteristics. Much end-of-life PPE falls under commercial and industrial waste and needs dedicated collection and treatment streams.
But there is an even bigger reason to keep it apart from other waste: in general waste, the chance to recover value is lost.
PPE covered by the service
Each type has its own container and its own recovery route.
The solution: the back to work® service
European rules (Directive 89/656/EEC) require employers to provide workers with suitable personal protective equipment. Gloves, face masks, safety shoes, workwear and helmets are among the most widely used PPE, but what happens when they reach the end of their life?
back to work® steps in at exactly this stage, taking charge of the waste and guiding it towards recycling.
We bring ESObox containers to your site, dedicated to collecting each type of end-of-life PPE. We collect the used equipment with our own vehicles and send it for recycling at the ESO RECYCLING plant in Tolentino, Italy. There the materials are processed and turned into secondary raw materials that go back into new production cycles.
STEP 1: ESObox
Dedicated containers placed at your site to collect each type of PPE safely.
STEP 2: Collection
We take charge of the waste and collect the used equipment directly with our own vehicles.
STEP 3: Recycling
At the ESO RECYCLING plant in Tolentino, the materials are turned into secondary raw materials.
From waste to resource for your company
Polymers, fibres, rubber and textiles: much PPE is made of materials that can be recovered and given a second life.
With back to work®, end-of-life management becomes a circular economy process:
- Management and traceability: we organise collection and follow the waste all the way to recovery.
- Material recycling: PPE is sent for recycling so that its materials become secondary raw materials.
- Measurable impact: an LCA analysis quantifies the environmental benefit of the process in kg of CO₂ equivalent.
PPE recycling: what it becomes
At the ESO Recycling plant, PPE waste is sorted and processed into secondary raw materials. Part of this material becomes flooring for sports facilities and playgrounds: the same approach ESO has used in its esosport project to build more than 10 playgrounds with shock-absorbing surfaces made from recycled shoes.
For your company, PPE recycling means less waste sent to landfill, a measurable environmental figure for your sustainability report and a tangible message for employees and customers.
Who it is for
back to work® is designed for industries, businesses and public bodies that use PPE to prevent workplace injuries: manufacturing plants, construction sites, warehouses and logistics centres, food companies, laboratories and public administrations. Every sector has different PPE and volumes, which is why the service is tailored to each client.
Why choose ESO
Since 1999
in business waste management, with collections across Europe.
Our own vehicles and drivers
Our ESOdrivers are direct employees, not subcontractors.
Our own recycling plant
ESO Recycling in Tolentino, Italy.
Certifications
ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, registered with the Italian National Register of Environmental Managers (Albo Nazionale Gestori Ambientali). Find out more
Full traceability
on ESOweb, useful for audits and inspections.
Benefit Corporation
since 2016, with a public impact report every year.
You can activate back to work® directly with ESO: we design the service with you, wherever your sites are in Europe.