China generates over 6 million tons of waste textiles each year, with a recycling rate of only about 20%, while the recycling rate of waste polyester bottles has reached 94% — during the Third Session of the 14th National People's Congress, Wu Jifa, deputy to the NPC and deputy general manager of Shaoyang Textile Machinery Co., Ltd. under Hengtian Group, a subsidiary of Sinomach, put forward four proposals calling for accelerating the construction of a waste textile recycling and reuse system.

Key Points

  • Wu Jifa proposed at the Third Session of the 14th NPC in March 2025 that China generates over 6 million tons of waste textiles annually, with a recycling rate of only about 20%, far below the 94% recycling level of waste polyester bottles.
  • He pointed out three major bottlenecks in the industry: scattered, small-scale, and non-standardized recycling channels; bottlenecks in full-process production equipment for regenerated fibers; and lack of policy incentives in the recycling segment.
  • He recommended building a nationwide "waste uniform" recycling network, improving the standards system, increasing investment in major technical equipment, and strengthening fiscal, tax, and financial support.

As the world's largest textile producer and consumer, China's total textile fiber processing volume accounts for more than half of the global total. The stock of waste textiles is enormous, but the potential utilization space has not yet been fully tapped. Wu Jifa believes that there is an urgent need to establish a resource-recycling industrial system and a waste materials recycling system to narrow the huge gap between waste textiles and waste polyester bottles in recycling and utilization levels.

In his speech, he identified obstacles at three levels: first, although the stock of waste textiles is large, recycling channels are scattered, individual operations are small in scale, and operations are not sufficiently standardized; second, key equipment needed for full-process production of regenerated fibers still faces bottlenecks; third, an effective policy incentive mechanism has not yet been formed in the recycling segment.

At the policy level, a clear direction has already been set. The National Development and Reform Commission's "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Promotion of Waste Textile Recycling" (Fa Gai Huan Zi [2022] No. 526) proposed improving the waste textile recycling system and accelerating breakthroughs in key technologies and equipment such as fiber identification, efficient sorting, blended material separation, and regeneration utilization.

Based on the above assessment, Wu Jifa put forward four specific proposals: first, establish a systematic and standardized nationwide "waste uniform" recycling network; second, improve the system and series of standards for waste textile recycling and reuse; third, increase investment support for major technical equipment for recycling and reuse; fourth, increase fiscal, tax, and financial support for this industry.

In addition, regarding the equipment industry as a whole, Wu Jifa proposed strengthening research on key core technologies, increasing the development and promotion of domestically produced basic key components, and providing support for the security of the industrial chain and supply chain of the country's major technical equipment.

For the old clothing recycling and regeneration industry, the fact that a deputy raised the three major issues of low recycling rates, weak equipment, and lack of incentives at the national Two Sessions level means that waste textile recycling is entering the core vision of the policy agenda; if the related proposals on recycling network construction, standard formulation, and fiscal and tax support are implemented, the standardized supply of textile regenerated raw materials and the sorting equipment market are expected to receive substantial impetus.

Source: [Two Sessions Good Voices] NPC Deputy Wu Jifa: Accelerate the Promotion of Waste Textile Recycling and Reuse — State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council · Originally published on 2025-03-07