Maidstone Borough Council in the UK has partnered with sustainable materials company RECOOL to repair 5 potholes in Mote Park and Penenden Heath using materials made from recycled textile waste, in order to test whether such materials can replace traditional repair materials.

Key points

  • Five potholes were repaired in the pilot: 2 in Mote Park and 3 in Penenden Heath, with the work carried out in cooperation with contractor Loughman.
  • According to data from the circular economy organization WRAP, the UK generates about 1.45 million tonnes of waste textiles each year, nearly half of which enters general waste rather than being reused or recycled.
  • The repairs have been completed, and their performance under daily park use and weather conditions will be monitored over the coming months. Whether the approach is scaled up will depend on the pilot results.

The project took place on council-owned land and did not involve public roads—public roads are maintained by Kent County Council. As the body responsible for maintaining parks, open spaces, and car parks in its area, Maidstone Borough Council hopes to use this to verify whether the material can become an alternative with better durability and lower environmental impact. According to RECOOL, the experimental product is a low-carbon alternative material; in the process, recycled textile waste is first used to fill most of the pothole volume, and then a specialized surface layer is applied on top.

Councillor Rachel Rodwell, Cabinet Member for Climate Transition and Nature Recovery, said that second-hand trading platforms have extended the service life of many garments, but fast fashion still causes large amounts of textiles to be discarded; this pilot is intended to turn this problem into an opportunity by testing whether discarded textiles can be used as part of pothole repair materials, exploring a practical path that can reduce waste, lower carbon emissions, and support the circular economy.

Councillor Clive English, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Enforcement, said the pilot allows the council to evaluate the material under "real-world conditions," and that Maidstone is willing to share the assessment results with other local authorities.

Elise Daly of RECOOL said the company converts mixed textile waste into "a practical low-carbon alternative to traditional plastic products," creating a use for materials that might otherwise be discarded.

For the used clothing recycling and regeneration industry, this case provides a new outlet for textile waste to enter the field of infrastructure materials: when clothing reuse channels become saturated, converting unwearable mixed waste into engineering materials may become a supplementary path for diverting waste from landfill and incineration.

Source: Maidstone trials textile waste in pothole repairs | Envirotec · Originally published on 2026-09-28