NewRetex, a Danish company, has developed a fully automated sorting system for post-consumer textile waste which is converted into recycled fibres and yarns suitable for production of new garments.
- The sorting is done by material type, material composition, colour and structure using near-infrared (NIR) sensors, cameras and machine learning.
- The recycling enterprise receives, sorts and processes discarded textiles from municipalities, fashion brands, workwear companies, spinning mills and others.
- The automatic sorting system then sorts and documents the items according to material type, composition, colour and structure using a combination of near-infrared sensors and cameras.
- With the use of machine learning, the categorisation of textiles is flexible and can be adjusted individually depending on the recycling purpose.
- The existing plant with a main sorting line has been in operation since October 2023 and has a capacity of 200 tonnes of textile waste per month, which is scalable depending on the input volume.
- NewRetex plans to use 70% of the textile waste for new fibres, while the remaining 30 percent would be integrated into the open recycling loop or the production of synthetic gas.
THE WORKS: The testing facility, operational since 2021, employs two robots to sort textile waste. These robots sort based on material composition and colour identification using NIR sensors and cameras, respectively.
- Once the special sensors determine what a piece of textile consists of, they are then sorted into 31 different categories such as 100 per cent cotton, 60 per cent/40 per cent cotton/polyester blend, acrylic-wool blend, etc.
- Each category is then divided into colours, so that the finished product becomes directly usable for producing new textiles.
PROJECT PARTNERING: NewRetex is a part of the Textile Waste Partnership, that aims to promote development, with participation of several municipalities and companies in the waste sector.
- The Association of Municipalities in Denmark, the Confederation of Danish Industry, and the Danish Chamber of Commerce also participate in the partnership.
- Together, the partners will develop and explore solutions to expand the possibilities for handling and sorting textiles, develop recycling technologies, and increase outlets for textile waste.
- The collection of textile waste is mandated by law in Denmark, as collecting it is a prerequisite for recycling.
