Essity’s Tork PaperCircle collected over 500 million hand towels in 2025
Essity continued to expand Tork PaperCircle, its paper hand towel recycling service, helping customers reduce waste, keep valuable fibres in use for longer and advance their circularity objectives.
In 2025, the service collected more than 500 million used hand towels and increased the number of customer collection sites by 33%, reflecting growing demand for circular washroom solutions among businesses and public institutions in Europe.
The company described Tork PaperCircle as the world’s first paper hand towel recycling service and a leading solution in Europe for turning a material traditionally discarded after use into a resource for new hygiene paper products.
From used hand towels to new tissue products
The service collects used paper hand towels from participating customer locations and transports them to Essity manufacturing plants, where they are recycled into new tissue products, including toilet paper. This gives used hand towels a further life and helps organizations put circular economy principles into practice.
Essity reported that Tork PaperCircle recycled more than 35 million hand towels per month. The service has received recognition for innovation, eco-design and sustainability, supporting its position as a practical circular solution for customers.
Expansion across 15 European markets
Tork PaperCircle has expanded to 15 European markets. Participating customers include major corporate headquarters in France, Poland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, airports in Sweden, universities in Germany and public-sector facilities in Norway.
According to Essity, demand has increased among companies and public institutions for practical ways to cut waste and support sustainability objectives. Recycling and circularity have become increasingly relevant in purchasing decisions and tender requirements.
The growth in collection sites during 2025, together with the collection of more than 500 million used hand towels that year, demonstrated the increasing scale of the service across European organizations.
A scalable service with measurable impact
“At Essity, we believe innovation should solve real customer needs, lead the market and deliver meaningful sustainability outcomes,” said Pablo Fuentes, President Professional Hygiene at Essity. “Tork PaperCircle is a strong example of that approach. By turning used paper hand towels into new hygiene paper products, we help customers reduce waste, make better use of resources and advance their circularity ambitions. The continued growth of the service reflects the increasing demand for solutions that deliver measurable sustainability benefits while supporting business performance.”
Tork PaperCircle supports the group’s wider sustainability objectives through greater resource efficiency and the use of recycled fibres in tissue production. Essity, which describes itself as Europe’s largest user of recycled fibre in tissue manufacturing, continues to invest in innovations intended to reduce environmental impact and improve resource use across value chains.
Building on the service’s development, Essity launched the Tork DispenserCircle pilot programme to explore further business opportunities and waste reduction. The company reported that the pilot had so far given a new purpose to 240,000 dispensers for soap, toilet paper and hand towels.
Recognition for circular innovation
Tork PaperCircle received recognition at the European Paper Recycling Awards in the European Parliament in 2017. In 2018, it won the Visitor’s Choice Award at Interclean Amsterdam, receiving 39% of visitor votes as the most innovative nominee.
The service subsequently received the German Ecodesign Award, or Bundespreis Ecodesign, in the Service category in 2024. In 2025, it won the Commercial Initiatives category at the Sustainability Awards held during the 16th Retail Summit in Warsaw, Poland.
