Northern Michigan University diverted a total of 655 pounds of waste from the landfill through its participation in The RightCycle program in 2021. The program began in fall 2020 after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic sent a plethora of PPE waste to landfills.
Kimberly Hegmegee, Occupational & Environmental Health Specialist for NMU, runs the RightCycle program and collects previously hard-to-recycle items such as protective clothing, safety glasses and nitrile gloves. The PPE is sent to a recycling facility and turned into new consumer products ranging from patio furniture and flower pots to plastic shelving. With a focus on recycling the most used PPE on campus, nitrile gloves, NMU is becoming more sustainable and recycling hundreds of pounds of waste each year.
“We are very happy with its success and hope to continue adding collection bins on campus,” said Hegmegee.
When the program first began, the first shipment of materials to be recycled was 287 pounds. So far in 2022, approximately 150 pounds have been collected, and it is expected to reach = 300 pounds for the next shipment.
With fewer Covid-19 precautions in place, the NMU campus community may not be producing as much PPE waste, but the addition of more collection bins will allow more waste of various kinds to be recycled and repurposed.