[OKRA] NC State Researchers Takes on Textile Waste

[Ellen Bussert]

eN
[image: image.png]
Good news about textile waste!  Researchers are looking for ways to reuse
old textiles and keep them out of the landfill.  Go to the link below to
see the full story and watch the story posted by WRAL News.
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April 4, 2023

>From fast fashion to discarded linens, textile waste is piling
up. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. sends more
than 11 million tons of textile waste to landfills each year. NC State
researchers are hoping to change that, however, by making it easier to
recycle fabrics. “We’re basically throwing away really sophisticated
materials that have value,” said Sonja Salmon, a textiles professor at NC
State and one of the authors of a new study about textile fiber separation
for sustainable waste processing.

Salmon and graduate student Jeannie Egan developed a method to separate
polyester and cotton blends, one of the biggest challenges for textile
recycling. “Currently, recycled polyester that’s used in clothing actually
comes from recycling your soda bottles,” Salmon said. Textile-to-textile
recycling is difficult because of the wide variety of chemicals and
materials used in clothing.

Salmon says they focused on the two most common materials: cotton and
polyester, which account for 75% of fibers used in textiles. The
researchers developed a method to break down the cotton in textile blends
using enzymes. The cotton slurry contains sugars that can be used in
biofuels. “Your t-shirt and blue jeans could ultimately make biomethane
that could power a tractor,” Salmon said. Once the cotton is removed, the
remaining polyester can be reused or recycled. “Currently, recycled
polyester that’s used in clothing actually comes from recycling your soda
bottles,” Salmon said.


*To read the full story,
visit https://www.wral.com/nc-state-researchers-take-aim-at-textile-waste/20785261/
<https://www.wral.com/nc-state-researchers-take-aim-at-textile-waste/20785261/>.Author:
Liz McLaughlin, WRAL NewsImage: WRAL News*
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