Between the enactment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) wiper rule three years ago and the rebounding of industrial sectors such as automotives following the Great Recession, the industrial wipes market is expected to see significant growth over the next half-decade. 

According to recent figures from market researcher Smithers Pira, the industrial wipes market is expected to generate $3 billion in sales and consume around 302,000 tons of nonwovens by the end of this year. These numbers are predicted to increase to just over $4 billion in sales and 427,6000 tons of consumed nonwovens by the year 2021.

When the EPA published its wiper rule in 2013, it conditionally excluded solvent-contaminated wipes from hazardous waste regulations as long as businesses disposed of them properly. The EPA determined that wipes contaminated with certain hazardous solvents do not pose significant risk to human health and the environment when managed properly. Because of the rule, disposable, nonlaundered wipers have become more competitive with laundered shop towels.

It’s been up to each state in the U.S. to adopt the rule,