As two partners look to develop their joint OnceMore process, Lenzing’s role will be to implement its knowledge of recycling and its Refibra technology, which it is hoped will enable a variety of complex, coloured textiles containing a mixture of cotton, polyester and other components including elastane to be processed and recycled in future.
The next step, which is due to begin in the second quarter of 2023 and will run for four and a half years, will involve the construction and management of a facility for joint process development, as well as an extension of the OnceMore process.
This will allow 60,000 tonnes of pulp – comprising 50 percent recycled material and 50 percent renewable pulp from sustainable forestry – to be produced at Södra’s Swedish plant in Mörrum. The joint project will also make a significant contribution to the EU’s action plan for circularity, which is supported by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA).
“Today only one 1 percent of the world’s textile waste is recycled, putting an enormous burden on the environment,” said Åsa Degerman, Manager, OnceMore. “As the first large-scale project of its kind, Life Treats will have a positive influence on the textile industry as a whole, create new circular business opportunities and increasing the share of recycled fibres in new clothing.”
Sonja Zak, Head of Textile Sourcing & Cooperations at the Lenzing Group added: “Tackling the problem of textile waste requires a systematic approach, as well as technological solutions on an industrial scale.
The Life Treats project, therefore, follows an integrated approach to achieve real change and reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of the textile industry in the EU and beyond.” Forthcoming legislation such as the amendment to the EU’s Waste Framework Directive, in addition to increased user responsibility, the decline in export markets for used textiles and evidence of deteriorating quality in collected textiles point to major changes ahead in the treatment of textile waste.
According to Lenzing and Södra, their procurement will be limited to the group of materials that cannot be reused in any other way with the aim being to not undermine the repurposing of used textiles, but to prevent valuable fibre resources from being sent to landfill or incinerated.
Lenzing and Södra have been working together on textile recycling since 2021. In the course of their cooperation, the companies plan to share their knowledge and jointly develop methods to facilitate the broader use of cellulose-based used textiles on an industrial scale. The OnceMore pulp developed by both companies will then be used for various purposes, including as a raw material for the production of Lenzing’s Tencel branded specialty fibres using Refibra technology.
The Lenzing Group and Swedish pulp producer Södra have received a €10 mn subsidy from the European Union towards their joint textile waste recycling program. The grant has been awarded as part of the EU’s LIFE funding programme for the environment, under the banner of ‘Life TREATS’ (Textile Recycling in Europe at Scale) which aims to reach an annual processing capacity of 50,000 tonnes of textile waste by 2027.
