The research partnerships are focused on transforming unrecyclable clothing into soil-amending products and using artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the sorting of donations.
According to Western, the Ontario Great Lakes region took in over 43 million pounds of donations in the past fiscal year. Some of these donations cannot be resold or reused, making landfill diversion a challenge.
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In response, Goodwill turned to researchers at Western University and Fanshawe College for expertise in recycling and automation.
Researchers from Western’s Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR), along with Fanshawe’s Centre for Research and Innovation, are converting clothing waste through a process called pyrolysis.
The method breaks down textiles, which often contain mixed fibres and additives, into biochar.
Biochar, a porous carbon material, is used to enrich soil by helping it retain nutrients and support micro-organisms. Early research indicates that plants can grow better with textile-derived biochar than without it.
Heejin Lee, a postdoctoral research associate at Fanshawe College collaborating with ICFAR, explained: “Textile waste is often difficult to recycle using conventional methods because it’s a mixture of different kinds of fibres with dyes and additives. That means many textiles end up in landfills.”
Another part of the collaboration looks at the use of enzymes to break down natural fabrics like cotton or hemp into sugars, which could have further industrial applications. Researchers said many donated textiles in North America still end up in landfills after they cannot be resold.
In addition to recycling innovations, Western University is also developing AI systems to improve Goodwill’s sorting process. Currently, donated items are sorted manually.
Professor Min Xia from Western’s engineering faculty is leading work on a system that uses smart cameras to scan and categorise donations as they move on a conveyor belt. The aim is to reduce the amount of reusable material being sent to landfill.
Commenting on the project, Min Xia said: “Cameras will help to identify the items, and if they miss them, the system will give the workers a signal to easily identify them. Then again at the end of the conveyor, there will be another camera to guarantee nothing ends up in the landfill that shouldn’t.”
The partners have diverted about 5,000 pounds of clothing waste from landfill since the textile project began more than four years ago. Researchers have applied for a federal grant to expand their work with the aim of addressing the remaining unsellable textiles in the coming years.
The AI sorting system is expected to be operational within a year, with further improvements anticipated as the collaborations continue.
