Henkel expands adhesive recycling program

Henkel, a manufacturer of adhesives, sealants and functional coatings such as the Loctite brand headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany, and TerraCycle, Trenton, New Jersey, are adding light cure adhesive technologies to their adhesive recycling program.

Henkel, in partnership with TerraCycle, began to offer a recycling solution for anaerobic adhesive packaging in 2016. Through the program, Henkel customers can purchase a postage-paid recycling box they fill with used Loctite adhesive containers and send to TerraCycle for processing. TerraCycle will thermally treat the containers and turn them into new plastic products.

“As a company with a strong commitment to sustainability, we think this is a great way to offer an environmental solution to our customers,” Simon Mawson, senior vice president general adhesives, North America, says. “We hope they will appreciate the option of recycling used Loctite containers instead of sending material to landfills and incinerators and use it to achieve their own sustainability targets.” 

Henkel aims to reduce its products’ environmental footprint at every stage of the product lifecycle by 2030. The adhesive recycling program aligns with that initiative, the company says.

“We broke new ground with our Henkel partnership, as it was the first time we recycled this category,” Tom Szaky, TerraCycle CEO, says. “With the continued development of this successful program, we hope it will be an ongoing eye opener to an industry that has previously not had an option to recycle adhesive containers.”

Interested companies can contact their local Loctite distributor or visit www.na.henkel-adhesives.com/recycleloctite for more information.