At SorTex we sometimes come across the term "problem fractions". Problem fractions is the term for textiles that are collected but for which there is currently no outlet or recycling method. These fractions are a big challenge as they often end up in landfill or incineration.
This article provides examples of problem fractions and how they are handled at sorting facilities.
One problem fraction is wet textiles, which pose a problem as they become moldy and thus pose a health risk. In addition, just one moldy piece of textile in a container can ruin the other textiles in the container, making them unrecyclable. As it is, drying wet textiles is too resource- and energy-intensive and there is nothing to do with the wet and unusable clothes but to send them to incineration.
Multilayered textiles are also problematic. A good example of multi-layer textiles can be a lot of the outerwear we wear - for example jackets. A winter jacket will typically consist of several different types of textiles. There will often be a nylon outer layer, a membrane that makes the jacket windproof and waterproof, and a padding that makes the jacket warm and comfortable to wear. This mix of textiles makes the different elements difficult to separate and therefore difficult to sort into correct fractions for recycling.
Christian Bach Søndergaard, business consultant at Erhvervsrådet Herning- og Ikast-Brande and partner at SorTex, also highlights much of our sportswear as a challenge. He explains that this type of comfortable and stretchy clothing often contains large amounts of elastane, which is a synthetic rubber fiber that gives the clothing elasticity and flexibility. The problem is that no methods have yet been found to separate elastane from other textile materials, such as cotton and polyester.
Christian Bach Søndergaard explains that you can talk about a limit value of around 5%. If it's only 5% elastane or less and 95% other material, it would be recyclable in most cases, but as soon as it exceeds this limit, there are currently no recycling methods.
At the NewRetex sorting plant in Rødkærsbro, textile waste is sorted for recycling - by color and material - using new robot and sensor technology. They often receive large quantities of both multi-layer textiles and clothing with large amounts of elastane. This is a big challenge as these textiles will often end up in landfill or incineration due to a lack of recycling options.
According to Frederik Søby, Procurement Coordinator at NewRetex, a lot of work is underway to find chemical methods for recycling elastane in particular. However, he emphasizes that it will take several years before it becomes something that can be scaled up and used on a large scale.
In addition to elastane and multilayer textiles, Frederik Søby highlights wet textiles as a major problem fraction they often receive. At NewRetex, they estimate that 14-15% of the textiles they receive are wet. NewRetex hopes that the SorTex project will contribute to more information and greater awareness among citizens and municipalities about how textile waste should be disposed of, collected and handled. This will help avoid wet textiles or textiles being sorted incorrectly and ending up in small combustible waste, even if they could have been recycled.
