The granulation workshop and R&D building of the Lvsikelai project in Hongze District, Huai'an, Jiangsu, have topped out, with some equipment now being installed. Trial production is expected in January 2026, and once operational, the project will recycle 100,000 tons of waste clothing annually. The project uses chemical recycling to produce recycled polyester fiber, efficiently recycling and reusing waste textiles while preserving the color and properties of virgin fibers, with low energy consumption, low emissions, and no dyeing required in the production process.

Key Points

  • Once operational, the Lvsikelai project will recycle 100,000 tons of waste clothing annually, with trial production expected in January 2026.
  • Hongze District is home to 105 fiber new material enterprises, 49 of which are above designated size, with industry output value exceeding 10 billion yuan.
  • Jiangsu Ruihong Salt Industry has achieved 100% reuse of production wastewater, saving over 1.2 million cubic meters of water annually.

Chemical Recycling of Waste Clothing Expands Regional Capacity

Lvsikelai is another circular regeneration enterprise attracted to Hongze that uses waste clothing to produce recycled polyester fiber. Its products offer advantages of low cost and secondary energy savings, and can be used in blankets, apparel, textile fabrics, luggage cloth, and other fields.

Fiber New Material Industry Cluster Takes Shape

Hongze treats the fiber new material industry as an important lever for its "industrial powerhouse district" strategy, successively introducing projects such as Taihua, Peipu, and Yuanyong to build a full industrial chain from polymerization, spinning, and weaving to dyeing and finishing. Peipu Technology has built a full industrial chain system from recycling waste plastic bottles and textiles, producing recycled polyester chips, to manufacturing recycled polyester filament yarn, processing 350,000 tons of waste annually through physical and biological methods; its recycled color spinning technology achieves waterless dyeing, and its biological enzymatic regeneration technology can decompose waste textiles and reassemble them into high-quality fibers. The district's relevant experience and practices were selected as a Jiangsu Province green and low-carbon transformation development practice case.

Straw-Based Substrate Utilization and Industrial Wastewater Reuse Advance in Parallel

In earlier years, straw burning or dumping in rivers caused pollution in Hongze. In 2012, Jiangsu Zishan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was introduced to convert straw into substrate for button mushroom production, with spent mushroom substrate made into fertilizer returned to fields. Last year, Zishan consumed 52,000 tons of wheat straw annually, driving the district's straw substrate utilization scale to 60,000 tons. The straw fiber filament and biodegradable molded products project of Jiangsu Fusipai New Material Technology Co., Ltd., introduced last year, will consume 350,000 tons of straw annually once completed. Jiangsu Ruihong Salt Industry has built a "brine-glauber's salt-renewable resources" circular system, achieving 100% reuse of production wastewater and saving over 1.2 million cubic meters of water annually, with glauber's salt already exported to many overseas countries.

The recycling of waste clothing and waste plastic bottles is extending along the fiber new material industrial chain toward higher value-added segments, opening stable downstream demand outlets for old clothing recycling materials, such as recycled polyester filament yarn and raw materials for eco-friendly sportswear.

Source: Hongze, Huai'an: Unlocking New Ways to "Turn Waste into Treasure," Regenerating "Beautiful Economy" from "Waste Resources"_Xinhua Net Jiangsu Channel · Originally published on 2025-11-27