Supporting sustainability at Interclean

MANY PEOPLE ask why do circularity and waste reduction matter to Northwood Hygiene Products?

As a leading manufacturer of recycled tissue, we are all about circularity, so it’s vital for us to preserve resources and minimise the amount of waste we generate. The way we look after our waste management is an important benchmark that sets us – as a vertically integrated manufacturer – apart in the industry. 

75% of our products are made from recycled paper and all paper mills now produce Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) certified base sheet paper.

Furthermore, we recycle all the paper waste we produce and 94% of our operational waste is recycled closed loop through our mills. Just 0.3% of our waste is sent to landfill and we continue to push this to the lowest possible levels.

What will visitors see?

Naturally, sustainability is the core theme on our stand.

Sustainability and hygiene have generally been viewed as incompatible and we want to show visitors that there are hygiene solutions available that can really contribute to sustainability.

Our Whisper Eco product – the first of its kind in the market – is one of them. Whisper Eco uses FSC® certified, sustainably sourced, 100% recycled paper and comes in paper packaging. It is the first toilet tissue in the Whisper range to be wrapped in paper and is the most sustainable toilet roll we have ever produced. 

Similarly, our Raphael proprietary washroom range combines strong environmental benefits with superior hygiene. 

We are committed to circularity and will be talking about our ‘Green Loop’ closed loop end of life plastic recycling solution.  We’ll also unveil our new dispenser recycling service where we remove old soap and paper dispensers from customer premises and recycle them.

Becoming more sustainable

In terms of sustainability we’ve made great progress. Firstly, we have reduced our reliance on finished goods suppliers in Europe and now manufacture more than 95% of our paper products in the UK. 

We’ve introduced plastic-free packaging on our Whisper Eco product, with plans to roll this out across other product categories. We’ve also introduced paper and board packaging for our hand towel assortment and removed plastic tape, which has enabled us to reduce plastic by over 72 tonnes a year.

We have extended our sourcing policy to ensure that suppliers adhere to the same sustainability principles as us. This means that all the paper and board goods we purchase, such as labels, boxes and cores, are FSC® certified, just like our finished goods. 

Additionally, we’ve made some big investments. Our new fleet of lorries has already helped us to reduce our CO2 emissions by 8% within our logistics network, whilst a new generation heat recovery boiler at our Disley paper mill has reduced site carbon emissions by utilising waste heat from our operation. 

Full circle economy

We’re proud to be one of a handful of companies in the UK that is fully vertically integrated, meaning we control the whole of our paper supply chain. 

As a true UK manufacturer with a domestic supply chain, we embrace a full circle economy. This means that we are involved throughout the supply chain – raw material supply, manufacturing, end user product converting, storage and transportation. 

By minimising the import of products from overseas and not transporting raw materials or products unnecessarily in the UK, we are able to significantly reduce the number of miles goods must travel, which helps our Net Zero strategy.

We’re committed to sustainability and will continue to do our bit to lighten our footprint, waste less and meet climate targets. To find out more visit stand no 11.201

Joel Quick is sustainability manager at Northwood Hygiene Products.

For further information, visit www.northwood.co.uk