Eco Circle embarks on polyester recycling programme

The Teijin Group, Japan-based has been operating its ECO CIRCLE recycling programme in China since 2009. Nantong Teijin, it’s polyester textile manufacturing and processing company in co-operation with Onward Trading and Fuji Xerox with their ECO CIRCLE programme, is all set to incorporate the world’s first technology for the chemical recycling of polyester.

Nantong Teijin is working towards the launch of a closed-loop recycling system for uniforms in China. According to the three partners, Teijin will be responsible for weaving and dyeing recyclable polyester textiles while Onward Trading will use this to produce several hundred uniforms worn by customer engineers Fuji Xerox and production line workers in Fuji’s e-scrap recycling branch.

On reaching their end-of-life phase, the uniforms will be collected and sent to the Zhejiang Jiaren New Materials recycling plant. After chemical decomposition, the uniforms will be converted into polyester raw material, offering purity comparable to polyester derived directly from petroleum,’ states Teijin. This will yield high-quality polyester for Onward Trading to create new uniforms.

According to Yasuaki Nakagawa, president of Onward Trading, the project will ‘raise environmental consciousness in China’. By combining Teijin’s world’s-first closed-loop recycling system and Onward’s clothing design, production and merchandising capabilities, our collaborative scheme will facilitate Fuji Xerox’s belief that used products are valuable resources, not waste.

Nantong Teijin’s president Hiroaki Mimori announced that with the start-up of Zhejiang Jiaren New Materials’ recycling plant next year; they intend to steadily expand their environmental initiatives in this fast-growing market.