UK charity calls for partners to expand polyester recycling system
16/08/2023
Project Re:claim is a joint venture between corporate wear specialists Project Plan B and SATCoL, one of the UK’s largest charity textile collectors.
SATCoL will install the machine at its processing centre in Kettering, Northamptonshire, which sorts and processes around 65,000 tonnes of donated textiles every year.
SATCoL already has the UK’s only automated textile sorting facility, Fibersort, which automatically identifies and sorts second-hand textiles by fibre type. This additional technology is the next step towards SATCoL’s ambition to create the UK’s first “fibre farm”, with the aim of massively scaling up textile-to-textile recycling of all types of materials.
Majonne Frost, head of environment and sustainability at SATCoL, said: “Last year SATCoL enabled reuse and recycling of over 250 million products but there are always items which are too damaged and we cannot resell and they are often garments made from polyester.
“With this new technology we can give these clothes a new lease of life. So when your favourite jumper is worn-out, we will take it and turn it into polyester pellets, ready to be turned back into a new jumper.”
This new plant will recycle around 2,500 tonnes in its first year, rising to 5,000 tonnes in year two.
Ms Frost added: “The incredible vision of Project Plan B has brought about the development of the technology, we have the infrastructure to collect donations at scale and we now need companies to step up. This is an opportunity for companies to make a commitment to significantly reduce their environmental impact. In preparation for full production, we are currently seeking 100% polyester textiles such as used hotel linen or post-event promotional banners.”
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