The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Recycling of Waste Textiles, setting clear targets: by 2025, the recycling rate of waste textiles should reach 25% and the output of recycled fiber should reach 2 million tons; by 2030, these two indicators should rise to 30% and 3 million tons, respectively.

Key Points

  • 2025 targets: 25% recycling rate, 2 million tons of recycled fiber output; 2030 targets: 30% and 3 million tons.
  • In 2020, China generated about 22 million tons of waste textiles, with a recycling rate of only about 20% and recycled fiber output of about 1.5 million tons.
  • For every 1 kilogram of waste textiles utilized, 3.6 kilograms of CO2 emissions can be reduced and 6,000 liters of water saved.

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of textiles and apparel, accounting for more than half of global textile fiber processing. Its total annual fiber consumption is about 30 million tons, with per capita fiber consumption at about 22.4 kilograms, already close to the level of moderately developed countries. The other side of massive consumption is massive waste—in 2020, waste textile generation was about 22 million tons, but the recycling rate was only about 20%, and recycled fiber output was about 1.5 million tons.

Zhao Kai, executive vice president of the China Circular Economy Association, pointed out that as attitudes toward clothing change and the replacement cycle for garments shortens significantly, the recycling capacity for waste textiles urgently needs to keep up. Sun Huaibin, vice president of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, analyzed that constrained by factors such as institutional mechanisms, the recycling system, sorting methods, and technical standards, recycled fiber raw materials are still mainly PET bottle flakes and industrial textile waste, while the amount of old clothing and fabrics from urban and rural residents is relatively small, resulting in overall low utilization efficiency. He also noted that about 80% of current textiles are chemical fibers that cannot naturally degrade. Recycling can not only save resources such as petroleum and land but also alleviate the idle waste of old clothes in households; however, the recycling system and the industrial regeneration end have not yet effectively connected.

The environmental benefits are also considerable: according to estimates by relevant research institutions, for every 1 kilogram of waste textiles utilized, 3.6 kilograms of CO2 emissions can be reduced, 6,000 liters of water saved, and the use of 0.3 kilograms of chemical fertilizer and 0.2 kilograms of pesticides reduced.

The document also provides a benchmark for the industry's current status: Sun Huaibin introduced that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the recycling industry developed rapidly. Thirty-four recycled polyester producers have passed the MIIT's industry standard conditions review, forming several typical industrial clusters, and breakthroughs have been made in key processes, technologies, equipment, and standards for polyester recycling. But shortcomings are also obvious—sorting still relies mainly on manual identification, medium- and high-end complete sets of sorting, opening, and recycling equipment basically depend on imports, and enterprises are generally small in scale with limited deep-processing capacity.

Drawing on overseas experience, Tang Shijun, former director of the Quartermaster Equipment Research Institute of the General Logistics Department, introduced that in European countries, the utilization of waste textiles is mainly second-hand clothing sales, accounting for more than 50% of total utilization; about 60% of France's waste textiles are exported to Africa and Eastern Europe, and about 35% enter recycling for energy and building materials. Domestically, the Implementation Opinions propose using waste uniform clothing (military uniforms, school uniforms, workwear, and various law enforcement uniforms, etc.) as a breakthrough. Such waste has relatively uniform raw materials and concentrated recycling channels, making it suitable for pilot recycling programs first before gradually expanding to the entire industry.

For the old clothing recycling and regeneration industry, this means that bottlenecks in recycling, trading and circulation, fine sorting, and comprehensive utilization will enter the policy agenda, and both second-hand clothing circulation and recycled fiber production are expected to gain clearer regulations and greater raw material space.

Source: How to accelerate the recycling of waste textiles? This opinion provides the answer · Originally published on 2022-04-14