PUreTex (Polyurethane from Textiles)

Funder: Research Ireland (National Challenge Fund)

Duration: 09/2023 – Present

Lead on Project: Dublin City University

Other Partners: The Rediscovery Centre

Status: Open

About:

PUreTex is a DCU project which aims to chemically recycle used textiles like clothes and bedsheets, and create a rigid plastic foam called polyurethane which can be used in a wide range of applications, including as insulation for houses. The Rediscovery Centre’s role in this project as a community champion is to support behaviour change interventions in parallel with the chemical recycling of polyester fibres to tackle the problem of textile overconsumption at source. The Centre’s research team will also provide advice and guidance on the way that textile waste is currently managed in Ireland, mapping the reuse and recycling processes.  

 

PUreTex tackles a very large problem with an ambitious plan. With the new rules on separate collection of textiles coming into force in January of this year, it is expected there will be a large surplus of separated post-consumer textiles arising across Europe. There will also be new rules about what can be done with these textiles. The sector is currently searching for sustainable solutions to this problem, and PUreTex provides a potential pathway to retaining the value of discarded textiles. 

 

Background:

The textile industry generates 8-10% of all global carbon emissions, more than the combined emissions from the aviation and shipping industries. Of the 5.8 million tonnes of textiles that EU consumers discard every year, 4.3 million tonnes are dumped. That is equivalent to 60 garbage truckloads of clothes being burned or buried in landfill every minute. Globally, less than 1% of clothes are recycled back to clothing. These numbers are a stark indicator of the global challenge we are facing with textile production and disposal. 

 

Objectives:

PUreTex will deliver prototype sustainable rigid PU foams produced by the valorisation of currently untapped waste-streams from Irish post-consumer textiles. In parallel, together with the Rediscovery Centre as community champion, the project will promote the adoption of informed and sustainable textile consumption habits.

 

This project aims to solve a problem for textile handlers by providing an alternative disposal route for textiles that may have otherwise been exported to be landfilled. This is especially important given that the EU requires Ireland to implement separate collection of textiles from January 2025, which is expected to significantly increase the amount of waste textiles that need to be sorted and disposed of in dedicated waste streams.  

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