Ninety-two enterprises and entities will receive DKK 106.5 million to work towards a circular economy for plastics and textiles in Denmark until 2050. The grant for the mission-driven partnership comes from the Innovation Fund Denmark.
- The 92 partners must deliver on one out of four national missions that must contribute to the green transition. The first projects are ready for launch, and more will follow.
The context: Clothes, shoes and other textiles are made up of many different fibres, which makes them difficult to recycle. The same applies to plastic waste, which is a complicated and mixed plastic stream.
- In contrast to materials such as cardboard, metal and glass—which Denmark is good at recycling—plastic and textiles often end up in the incinerator, resulting in large CO2 emissions.
- The two materials also burden the environment when they are produced, and longer durability of the materials and better recirculation will therefore contribute significantly to reducing the climate burden and a number of environmental burdens.
Saving tonnes of CO2: The new Partnership for Circular Economy for Plastics and Textiles (PCEPT) consisting of 92 partners in the form of Danish universities, knowledge institutions, companies, clusters, municipalities and regions are now joining forces to kick-start a number of projects that, based on a holistic view of resource consumption, must ensure long-term durability and better recycling of plastic and textiles, which has great environmental and climate potential.
- Only the projects that kickstart the roadmap will be able to save greenhouse gas emissions corresponding to 650,000 tonnes of CO2-eq.
- The projects will, among other things, investigate how information technology can contribute to better waste sorting, how to design clothing so that it has a long lifespan by understanding user behaviour—and how to ensure that high-quality plastics from the healthcare sector do not go up in smoke, but are instead recycled.
The backdrop: The PCEPT comes with a backdrop:
- In 2021, the Danish government and the Danish Parliament allocated a total of DKK 700 million for investments in mission-driven green research and innovation partnerships to achieve Denmark's ambitious climate targets of 70 per cent reduction in 2030 and climate neutrality in 2050.
How it will work:
- The Partnership currently has 92 partners, who are led by a board of directors, where Dorethe Nielsen, Vice-President Novo Nordisk, is chairman, while Henrik Bindslev, dean of the Faculty of Technology at the University of Southern Denmark, is deputy chairman.
- Three workstreams have been established under the partnership; one on textiles, to be led by associate professor Else Skjold from the Royal Academy, one that goes across plastics and textiles under the leadership of Kristian Syberg, Department of Natural Sciences and the Environment, Roskilde University, and one on plastics, which Thomas Fruergaard Astrup, Institute for Environmental and Resource Technology, the Technical University of Denmark is at the helm.
- Innovation Fund Denmark has granted DKK 106.5 million to the PCEPT. The Partnership has drawn up the national Roadmap for a circular economy for plastics and textiles towards 2050, which today forms the basis of the Partnership's Mission.
- The PCEPT aims to develop, deliver and implement solutions that can contribute to a more sustainable use and recycling of plastics and textiles and thus contribute to ensuring that Denmark reaches the climate targets for CO2 reduction towards 2030 and 2050.
What they said:
Every day, enormous amounts of plastic and textiles are burned and go up in smoke, which results in large CO2 emissions. There are therefore great gains to be made by strengthening the circular economy and becoming much better at reusing and recirculating these materials. The gains come both in the form of less climate-damaging emissions and a cleaner environment and nature. The partnership will therefore have a decisive role in the green transition by contributing to a more sustainable use and recycling of plastic and textiles and thus contribute to ensuring that Denmark reaches the climate goals in 2030 and 2050.
— Anders Eldrup
Head
Innovation Fund Denmark
These are large and complex challenges for which we will find solutions in the partnership, challenges that require close interaction between companies, researchers and authorities, as well as commitment from ordinary citizens. And in terms of research, it requires collaboration across many disciplines. Emergency friendly, but also exciting. The Partnership for Circular Economy for Plastics and Textiles is already ready to launch 14 projects, all of which aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact caused by our use of plastics and textiles.
— Henrik Bindslev
Dean of the Faculty of Technology
University of Southern Denmark
