Until now, only a small percentage of clothing could be recycled due to its complex production. 

The company hopes its new industrial-scale infrastructure will help validate the closed-loop chemical recycling solution that it has developed alongside strategic partners. The plant will be built and operated by the UK firm and will be constructed near to one of its technology partners, Sulzer Chemtech, in Winterthur, Switzerland. 

The process obtains polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and cellulose from non-reusable, hard-to-recycle textiles that constitute post-industrial and post-consumer waste. The Worn Again Technologies process purifies the products by removing dyes, contaminants and impurities, a step forward from traditional recycling methods, it says, and as such, delivers high-quality, virgin-like materials that can be reintroduced into supply chains to become new fibres, textiles and other products. 

Erik Koep, CEO at Worn Again Technologies, says, “The construction and operation of this demonstration plant are the next major milestones in achieving our vision for textile circularity. We look forward to starting operations soon and see this as the first plant in a global network of processing facilities.” 

Worn Again Technologies says the new plant represents a crucial step towards upscaling and commercialising its recycling process technology for the textile and apparel industry. It will have the capacity to divert 1,000 tonnes of textiles away from being incinerated or sent to landfill every year and offers potential for industrial-scale operations.

Photo by Alejo Reinoso on Unsplash