Every day, our Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) accompanies us at work, ensuring safety and protection. But like any tool, PPE also has a life cycle: over time it wears out and must be replaced.
The real question is: what happens next?
In the past, it often ended up simply as waste, losing its value. Today, however, we choose a different path — more conscious and sustainable — that allows us to turn a problem into an opportunity.
Together with Lyreco, our customer and supplier, we have launched a project where collaboration is the true driver of change. In specific areas of our production plants in Salvaterra, dedicated containers will soon be available — easy to recognize and always within reach — where used PPE can be disposed of. A simple gesture, but one with great value: it is precisely from these everyday actions that the circular economy takes shape, a model capable of giving new life to materials and reducing environmental impact.
And so, what once only served to protect us, today becomes a resource:
- Shoes and soles are transformed into running tracks or shock-absorbing mats for children, contributing to sport and the safety of others.
- Gloves and filters take on a new function as padding for sound-absorbing or insulating panels, proving that even the most technical materials can find a new purpose.
- Helmets and goggles are reinvented as everyday objects, such as desks or keychains — tangible symbols of a second chance.
Every small contribution, every mindful gesture, brings us a little closer to our greater sustainability goals. It is not only an environmental issue: it is a shared commitment, a way of saying that together we can make a difference.
Every small step brings us closer to great achievements. And we will reach them, together.
