The acquisition is intended to transform the circular textile ecosystem within the UK by using advanced technology. This initiative will facilitate the ethical recycling of textiles that cannot be reused, contributing to the advancement of a more sustainable textile sector.
This sorter is partially funded by the Automatic-Sorting for Circularity and Textiles (ACT UK) project, which receives support from Innovate UK.
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The ACT UK project fosters collaboration within the industry and aiding in the design of an Automated Textile Sorting & Pre-processing plant (ATSP), capable of handling 25,000 tonnes (t) of textiles annually.Circle-8 is the largest grant beneficiary.
Every year, over 700,000t of non-reusable textiles are generated in the UK, of which, less than 1% is currently recycled into new textile materials.
Circle-8 has been promoting the transition towards fibre-to-fibre recycling by developing a network of ATSPs along with partners to convert non-reusable textiles into feedstock for large-scale textile recyclers.
This procurement paves the way for increased collaboration with partners across the UK and Europe.
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By GlobalDataCircle-8 Textile Ecosystems co-founder and CEO Cyndi Rhoades said: “We are extremely impressed by the approach NewRetex has taken with the development of this automated textiles sorting line. It will enable a significant advance in the transition from manual to automated sorting of non-reusable textiles, laying the groundwork to support the scale up of fibre-to-fibre recycling plants for textiles and other recycling processes in the UK.”
The advanced sorting line from NewRetex will facilitate high-capacity sorting and precise categorisation of textiles based on material composition, colour, and presence of hard components like buttons and zippers.
Specialised software associated with this system will gather critical data such as weight and fibre content for each item sorted.
This information will be pivotal in tracking materials through various stages from pre-sorting to processing at ATSPs and eventually to recyclers, potentially culminating in Digital Product Passports.
NewRetex Textile Sorting and Recycling CEO/co-founder Rikke Bech said: “We are delighted to be working with C-8 to expand our innovative sorting and traceability technologies beyond Denmark. We see big potential in C-8 and their plans for the UK, and we are excited to be part of scaling textile sorting for recycling in Europe. We are impressed by their insight in the textile recycling industry and their ability to couple with brands and retailers in the UK. We look forward to following C-8 closely as they grow the UK market for automated sorting and textile-to-textile recycling.”
