Textile recycling is the method of reusing or reprocessing used clothing, fibrous material and clothing scraps from the manufacturing process. Textiles in municipal solid waste are found mainly in discarded clothing, although other sources include furniture, carpets, tires, footwear, and nondurable goods such as sheets and towels.
Textiles and Leather Recycling Categories
- Cotton Recycling
- Wool Recycling
- Burlap, Jute, and Sisal Recycling
- Polyurethane Foam Recycling
- Polyester and Polyester Fiber Recycling
- Nylon and Nylon Fiber Recycling
- Other Synthetic Fiber Recycling
- Carpet Recycling
- Rags and Wipers
- Used and Recycled Bags
- Used Clothing
- Used Footwear
- Leather Recycling
- Textile Recycling Employment
- Other Textile Waste
Textile Collection
For consumers the most common way of recycling textiles is reuse through reselling or donating to charity (Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army, etc.). However, certain communities in the United States have been accepting textiles in curbside pickup since 1990. The textiles must be clean and dry for them to be accepted for recycling.
Some companies, such as Patagonia, an outdoor clothing and gear company, accept their product back for recycling.
Reuse
Textile reuse is not classified as recycling by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Since the reused garments and wiper rags re-enter the waste stream eventually, these techniques are classified as diversion, rather than as recovery, for purposes of recycling estimates.
Resale
After collection of the textiles, workers sort and separate collected textiles into good quality clothing and shoes which can be reused or worn.
Conversion to Rags
Damaged textiles are sorted to make industrial wiping cloths.
Recycling
Obstacles
If textile reprocessors receive wet or soiled clothes, these may end up being disposed of in landfills, since the sorting units do not have washing and drying facilities.
Process
Clothing and fabric generally consist of composites of cotton (biodegradable material) and synthetic plastics. The textile’s composition will affect its durability and method of recycling.
Fiber reclamation mills grade incoming material into type and color. The color sorting eliminates the need for re-dying and thereby saves energy and pollutants. The textiles are shredded into "shoddy" fibers and blended with other selected fibers, depending on the intended end use of the recycled yarn. The blended mixture is carded to clean and mix the fibers, and is then spun to make it ready for weaving or knitting. The fibers can also be compressed for mattress production. Textiles sent to the flocking industry are shredded to make filling material for car insulation, roofing felts, loudspeaker cones, panel linings, and furniture padding.
For specialized polyester-based materials, the recycling process is significantly different. The first step is to remove the buttons and zippers. Next, the garments are cut into small pieces. The shredded fabric is then granulated and formed into small pellets. The pellets are broken down, polymerized, and turned into polyester chips. The chips are melted and spun into new filament fiber, which is used to make new polyester fabrics. Some companies are creating new pieces of clothing from scraps of old clothes. The new, eclectic garments are marketed as a special style of clothing.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Textile recycling."
