Textile recycling pilot plan
17/12/2008
The head of a sustainable clothing project set up by the UK government has announced plans to run a pilot scheme for the collection of textiles so that they can be reused.
Government minister Lord Hunt said: "We've been working hard with a lot of people in the clothing sector, we've had a lot of encouragement. We think there's a lot the clothing industry can do to make itself more sustainable."
The head of the project, Dr Dorothy Maxwell, said that increasing rates of recycling and reuse of textiles was one of the key aspects of the project.
"We generate two million tonnes of waste clothing per year, 63% goes to landfill, only 16% is recycling - that's pretty poor, we'd like to increase that," she explained.
Figures reveal that the amount of textiles recycled has increased from 59,000 tonnes in 2004 to 113,000 tonnes this year.
Dr Maxwell said that, among the areas the project was looking at was in-store take-back of textiles, and recycling both schoolwear and corporate wear, which, with their high synthetic content, could offer opportunities for closed-loop recycling.
The pilot scheme will start in February, at the time of the London Fashion Week.
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