Essity has inaugurated a production line in Hondouville, France, to make professional hygiene tissue products where the raw material consists of used food and milk packaging. The company, which calls the discarded carton- and aseptic packaging-fed production line the world’s first of its kind, says the facility recycles 25,000 tons per year of such materials, saying the amount is equivalent to 60% of all such collected, sorted and recycled food and beverage cartons in France.

In addition to increased recycling capacity at the plant, which has been operating since 2008, the process also enables the recycling of almost all the non-fiber materials in the packaging, including plastic and aluminum, according to Essity. The latest expansion, however, has increased the recycled-content tissue capacity by 40%.  

In addition to its recycled-content mill in France, Essity has similar recycling initiatives in Germany, the Netherlands and a recent effort in Ecuador, which is a collaboration with McDonald’s and the company ReciVeci for the recycling of paper cups from fast food restaurants.