Textile waste classifications for increased resourceefficiency in recycling

The textile industry is one of the most resource-intensive and environmentally impactful sectors in the world; annually, 116 million tons of textiles are produced globally, and large amounts of these end up as waste, with less than 1% of the global fiber market consisting of recycled textiles. As a result, the majority of textile waste ends up in landfills or is incinerated, causing serious environmental problems such as increased greenhouse gas emissions, microplastics, and resource depletion. To meet global sustainability goals and transition to a circular economy, textile recycling systems must be improved. One of the key factors for this is the effective classification of textile waste, which enables the reuse and recycling of materials in a more sustainable and resource-efficient way.

Although the collection and recycling of textiles has increased, and will continue to increase, there are still significant challenges in sorting and managing textile waste effectively, especially due to material mixtures and the lack of advanced technical infrastructure. Several recycling technologies have made significant progress, but a barrier to scaling up is the lack of raw materials in large volumes. The demand for fiber-to-fiber recycled raw materials remains very low, and there is limited information to realistically calculate and assess the business benefits of transitioning to more recycled textiles compared to virgin materials. Therefore, there is a great need for a classification system that covers the most commonly used fiber blends today and can help make the right decisions during product development and purchasing.

In line with this, the aim of this project proposal is to further develop a basic framework for assessing the recyclability of textile materials and products. This is a continuation of the project Framework for Circular Textiles – Classification of Recycled Textile Materials and Assessment of Recyclability/Circularity for Increased Implementation of Secondary Raw Materials in Textile Value Chains.

Project name: Textile waste classifications for increased resourceefficiency in recycling

Reference: 2024-03418

Status: Active

Call: Regleringar och Styrmedel

Project type: Feasibility study

Administrator: Vinnova

Project coordinators: RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB

Project partners: RISE, TEKO, Fenix Outdoor, Säntis Textiles, Ted Bernhardtz At Work AB, Södra, Rieter

Project leader: Catrine Marchall

E-mail: catrine.marchall@ri.se

Start date: 2024-11-01

End date: 2025-12-31

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