engleski

Recycling in the area of High-Performance textile materials & Protective clothing

Due to the rather low-cost clothing, there is a growing tendency of the throwaway of textile products, and thus their lifecycle is getting shorter. Consequently the textile waste has been increasing, and bringing a severe load on the environment. For example, in the United States of America, about 13 million tons of textile waste was generated in 2010, accounting for 5.3 wt% of the total municipal solid waste. Although it is estimated that at least 50 or even 90% of the textiles thrown away are recyclable, most of it is processed as general waste through landfilling or incineration. Only a small amount of the products are collected for reuse and recycling (at most 25%, i.e. in the UK). There are many influential reasons speaking for the recycling of waste from textile products and processes. They include conservation of resources (especially those that are not renewable like petroleum), reduction of the need for landfills and paying the associated tipping fees and provision of lower-cost raw materials for new textile products with higher added value, like fibre reinforced composites. However, in reality, textile recycling, an apparently obvious choice is more complex than it appears. Apart from often mentioned reason of insufficient public willingness to participate in recycling, economics is often the main reason hidden behind. This may be overcome by governmental incentives (legislation) or impulses as is done in some countries that are devoted to sustainable production and environmental protection.

textile recycling, high-performance fibres, protective clothing

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