Located in Trezzano sul Naviglio on the outskirts of Milan and part of the Haiki+ Group, the company Igers recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in San Pietro Mosezzo, in the province of Novara, to officially inaugurate a textile waste recycling plant. The plant has an authorized annual processing capacity of 19,000 tonnes, with a total investment of approximately €8 million, of which €1.3 million was co-funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). Italian Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin attended the inauguration ceremony.

According to Igers, the new plant integrates multiple processes into a single automated, integrated hub, composed of 56 interconnected machines and semi-automatic units, with operational data recorded via blockchain. The specific stages cover: disinfection of incoming materials in an ozone chamber, fiber analysis and grading, sorting, thorough shredding and certification reports, through to the production of traceable baled finished products, which are then sent downstream for use.

The core of the plant is a proprietary technology that has obtained an international patent. Most of the processed material is used to produce nonwovens, with applications including packaging, filling, construction, automotive and furniture; the remainder is used to spin yarns for apparel and home textiles, as well as other industrial uses. The recovery rate of incoming textile waste exceeds 96%.

Speaking at the ceremony about the role of public funding, Fratin said that the completion of projects financed by the NRRP is always an important milestone, meaning the focus has shifted from the data releases of past years to visible, tangible results; he believes that the circular economy will become increasingly strategically important to the country's modernization and the future sustainability of its economic system, and that every step in this direction should be encouraged.

For China's used clothing recycling and regeneration industry, this project offers two observable reference points: first, local sorting and regeneration capacity in Europe is expanding in a way leveraged by government funding, which may affect the future demand structure and quality thresholds for imported used clothing materials in Europe; second, blockchain traceability and certified baling are being embedded into the recycling process, and if exporters connect with European customers, requirements for material type information and traceability may tighten further.

Source: Textile recycling: Igers opens an €8 million plant · Originally published on 2026-09-21