Breakthrough in textile recycling by Project Plan B, SATCoL

Polyester materials have been effectively reused once more into raw material as a part of a joint endeavor between the UK’s biggest foundation material gatherer and a major corporate wear maker.

Project Re: claim is a joint venture between Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL), the charity’s trading arm, and corporate wear specialists Project Plan B. It has unveiled plans for the first commercial-scale post-consumer polyester recycling plant.

The exclusive polyester recycling system, which is based on recycling plastic bottles, was developed by Project Plan B. The machine will be installed by The Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd. (SATCoL) at one of their processing centers, which currently sort and process approximately 65,000 tons of donated textiles annually.

This new plant will reuse around 2,500 tons in its most memorable year, ascending to 5,000 tons in year 2, and means to reuse polyester that has reached the finish of its valuable life. The technology makes polyester pellets, which have been successfully used to make the first yarn.

In September, the brand-new technology will be installed at SATCoL’s processing centre in Kettering. SATCoL cannot rely solely on clothing bank donations to maximize the volume and potential of polyester recycling. As a result, they are looking for business partners who will immediately pledge to donate only textiles made of 100% polyester.

Fibersort, the only automated textile sorting facility in the UK, is already located in SATCoL. Based at the cause’s meticulously designed Handling Place in Kettering, Fibersort consequently recognizes and sorts recycled materials by fiber type and is the most important phase in material to-material reusing. This brand-new technology is the next step in SATCoL’s plan to establish the UK’s first fiber farm and dramatically expand textile-to-textile recycling of all materials. The fashion circular economy stands to gain significantly from this.