Feasibility of Textile Recycling Technology in Victoria: A Report

This report provides an overview of the textile industry, focusing on textile recycling and the circular economy in Victoria, Australia. It explores the challenges of textile waste management, including the cotton-polyester blend, and examines current recycling capabilities and public awareness. The report reviews existing literature on waste streams, recycling technologies, and consumer behavior, highlighting the limitations of current methods and the need for innovative solutions. The study emphasizes the potential of a new textile recycling technology, particularly its ability to handle blends, and assesses its feasibility for integration into the current textile ecosystem. It discusses the technology's economic and environmental benefits, including reduced waste, lower costs, and minimized health risks, ultimately advocating for its adoption to promote sustainability and a circular economy in the textile industry.

TEXTILE RECYCLING, CIRCULAR ECONOMY 1
Textile Recycling, Circular Economy
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Course
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Introduction
The textile industries all over the world depend on natural and fabric raw materials. The
natural raw material includes pure cotton wool and polyester [1]. To ensure maximum utilization
of these wastes, several technologies are employed depending on the type of waste in question.
Most of these technologies involve the use of heat to separate the content of the waste material to
their constituent units. The project will highlight the best technology used in the recycling arena
of the textile environment. The synthetic fiber of cotton and polyester is the main problem in the
history of waste management in textile industries due to the generated blend when cotton and
polyester are mixed. The project is more of a concern about the use of ion technology to control
this waste. While it is easy to recycle cotton and polyester individually, it is not possible to
mechanically separate the blends where the fibers are closely bonded together.
Background
Textile industries in Victoria, Australia have the biggest problem in dealing with the
cotton polyester blend. So many techniques have been used but they are not environmentally and
economically viable. Therefore, our project is based on getting the amicable solution to the
problem in Victoria using the ionic solution [2]. This solution which is environmentally
economically viable uses the solvent which utilizes chemical attraction mechanism to separate
cotton from polyester. This liquid selectively dissolves the cotton and separates it from the
polyester. Cotton can then be recycled to produce fibers while on the other hand polyester
recovered can be melted to form other products such as plastics.
Literature review
The economy of Australia is contributed by the revenue got from textile industries. The
growth of the textile industry can be estimated to 2.2% annually [3]. This relative speed in the

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growth of this sector has contributed both positively and negatively the economy of Victoria
Australia. Even though the positive contributions of the textile industries overweigh the negative
side, there are still great concerns about the waste produced to the environment. The amount of
waste produced is directly proportional to the increasing number of textile industries. Therefore,
critical measures should be taken to curb this problem.
The waste produced in the textile industry is not biodegradable especially the cotton
polyester blend. Sometimes the general public is not aware of recycling the used clothes, they
just throw them in the environs of Victoria. These materials sometimes find their way to
dumpsites through the municipal garbage collectors. In such cases, the mechanism of recycling is
forgone for the expense of throwing and dumping. Sometimes the textile waste ends in the
landfill. The landfill is an excavated pit which is filled with waste especially the non-
biodegradable and then covered using waterproof material and soil. The number of textile wastes
ending in such landfill may be as a result of poor handling of wastes, especially during sorting
and grading. Since the existing technology does not provide the mechanism to handle the cotton-
polyester blend, much of it ends in the landfill [4]. On the other hand, the textile industry may
gather a lot of fabric wastes to an extent that it comes hectic to handle.in this case the, the
industry may decide to dump the waste in landfill. In some cases, the economic value of
recycling of fabric materials can be low as compared to disposing of, therefore the textile
industries in Victoria may opt for the landfill dumping.
Public awareness
The public awareness is one of the most diverse and complicated approaches to textile
waste recycling mechanism [5]. People in areas of Victoria tend to handle their resources
depending on their level of living standard, education, and race. In an educated set up of people

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will always have a solution for the emerging issues in their surroundings because of the varieties
in proffesion. For instance, the second-hand clothes are still taken the market and sold to low-
income people in different countries. This is a way of recycling mechanism. Such clothes if
taken to set up of high living standard, no one may opt to use them therefore probably end up in
dumping sites. Therefore, the general public of Victoria should be taught on the ways of
recycling discarded fabric materials. This will reduce or cut completely dumping of fabric
materials. The main challenge in the textile industries in Australia is the proper dumping of the
unwanted or the end consumer fabric materials. Therefore, more inclusive technology is required
to ensure that all the textile materials are recycled [6]. During the manufacturing operations in
the textile industries in Victoria, the workers are exposed to health risks. This can be in the form
of breathing problems and sneezing. In addition to that, the general public of Victoria is exposed
to environmental health risks when the disposition is not done correctly. Therefore, all the
associates in the textile industries in Victoria have a collective responsibility to ensure the safety
of both the associates and the general public.
Current recycling capabilities of textile industries in Victoria
The textile industries in Victoria have come up with diverse ways of recycling the fabric
waste materials produced within its environs. The industries have employed the technique such
as collection points at textile stores like H&M and Zara, Public Cloth collection bins and the
collection bags also known as pink bag collection in the mailbox [7]. These recycling
mechanisms are used for the second hand and discarded clothes. The clothes collected by Zara
are normally second-hand clothes therefore, are either donated to charity or taken to recycling
deports. The cloth collection bin is public therefore the fabric wastes dumped by the individual

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Victorian citizens are not sorted. Therefore, there is a mixed-up of recyclable and non-recyclable
textile waste. Collection bags only allow specific clothes especially the recyclable materials.
The collection point stores in Victoria collect all types of cloths. These cloths are
sometimes in excess and need to be recycled. The currently available recycling technology works
only on materials that are 100% cotton but does not allow the cotton-polyester blend recycling.
Therefore, a more comprehensive technology is needed to curb this problem.
The public collection bins sometimes receive large volumes of wastes. Such volumes
may be too much that it affects the recycling process. The current technology is slow in
processing, therefore, the operation period of recycling is prolonged [6]. This leads to excess
waste which needs to be disposed of. In addition to that, the textile wastes are contaminated by
other waste. This makes it economically and environmentally unfriendly. This is experienced
during processing which includes sorting before recycling. This process gives additional cost in
the recycling. The contaminated fabric materials may as well find their way to the environment
thereby causing pollution at different levels. Non-biodegradable textile when exposed to the
environment can pollute the soil, water, and air. Textile waste can block the water pipes and
sewer lines. This has caused the water supply companies in Victoria extra revenue to curb the
situation [7].
Finally, the collection bags used in the textile industry in Victoria are sometimes not
appropriate. This method of recycling is very biased as the bags only require specific materials to
be put inside. Therefore, not all textile wastes are addressed by this technology. The remaining
type of waste are left and a more comprehensive technology needs to be put in place.
Therefore, the project addresses the introduction of a new technology that is believed to
predict total waste recycling in Australia. Both the degradable and non-degradable textile wastes

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in Victoria are well taken into consideration by this technology. The capability of the current
textile industry recycling technology in Victoria primarily addresses the waste that is 100%
cotton. The cotton-polyester blend is not addressed therefore causes environmental havoc. The
scope of the study is to introduce a new technology that will solve this uncertainty.
Abilities of the recycling technologies in Victoria
The recycling technology in the textile industry is traced back to the early 19th century.
The technologies have grown over time due to new emerging knowledge on the matter. Before
the invention of the existing recycling technology, the industry depended on the dumping
mechanism. This was done in the general dumpsites or in the landfills. This action affected the
people of Victoria negatively [8]. Therefore, the interested parties and the organizations
concerned ventured to find out the possible ways of controlling textile waste pollution. Since
then, there have been continuous and progressive changes in the recycling technology of textile
industries. However, there has been the introduction of the new technologies in the system, the
solution to the problem is not all done. This, therefore, forms the main objective of this project.
The main aim is the introduction of new technology in the system to curb the problem of textile
waste management. The current technologies in the textile industries of Victoria are not capable
of handling cotton polyester blend. Therefore, the project addresses the introduction of newly
viable technology in the industry [9]. The existing technologies leave some waste materials to
chance. These wastes can, therefore, get their way the environment causing severe degradation of
soil, water, and air. These materials are risky to human health, therefore, there is a gap in the
recycling process.
Importance of the new technology in the textile industry

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The introduction of the new material in the market through the process of blending has as
well created a gap in the recycling industries. The new ion solvent liquid technology can separate
the cotton from the polyester. The technology concerned in this project will fit in the textile
industries in Victoria. The technology minimizes the waste produced by the textile industry to
approximately 0.2% [11]. This increases the output of the industries in terms of volume
production. The technology of ion liquid is very economical and environmental friendly
according to the intellectuals in the related fields. The technology will be of a great boost in the
economy of the Victoria, therefore, it should be adopted at all cost. This will reduce
environmental pollution and the human infested diseases which are health risks. The technology
does not all expose the worker and all the associates to any kind of health risks.
The amount of waste in this new textile recycling technology will be highly reduced. This
is because of the ability of technology to recycle almost everything at a very low cost. The
technologies such as collection public bin posed a lot of waste to the textile recycling industry of
Victoria. Because the technology by then could not handle the blend of cotton and polyester.
This reduction in the amount has increased the processing rate. The amount of time taken during
recycling is directly proportional to the technology used [12]. The current recycling technologies
in Victoria are very slow and consume a lot of time leading to the compilation of waste on the
site. This situation can only be corrected by using more faster technology in terms of processing.
The current recycling technology available in Australia purely works on 100% cotton
material. This leaves the blend of cotton and polyester unattended thereby getting their way into
the environment and landfills. This project will come up with the solution of these blends. This
will ensure that all the blend waste are recycled. This scope of this project, therefore, fits in the
context of the prevailing condition in Victoria. The project focuses on the application of ion

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liquid as a solvent to curb the problem of a blend of cotton and polyester. The ion liquid
separates the blend into two proportions [12]. The constituent cotton is dissolved in the ionic
solvent while the other constituent polyester is left in the solid form. This technology is not
limited to blends alone but works even for pure cotton and polyester waste. The best part is that
the technology is very economical and environmentally friendly.
The technology fits in the textile industry of Victoria in several aspects. These aspects
include the difference in recycling process time and type of fabric being recycled. The
technology is aimed at increasing the speed of recycling textile waste. This reduces the
congestion of textile waste in the industry. It will also ensure faster delivery of the recycled
products into the market. Therefore it is economically viable in the short and long run projects.
The project, therefore, tends to find the long term solution to the problem associated with the
recycling of textile waste [13].
Impacts of recycling in the textile industry
The textile industry has gone miles in terms of technology innovation. These changes
also have affected the consumer taste in Victoria. The globalization of the textile has exposed
consumers to varieties of textile products. The use of the internet and other social media has
globalized the textile industries and the consumers are moving for sustainable textile products.
These consumers are willing to pay for sustainability as opposed to unsustainable products.
Therefore, this new technology of ion solvent will help in recycling of the blended products
hence satisfying the consumer needs [14]. Sustainability involves the use of products without the
fear of the aftermath. This is because of the ease in the recycling of the products. Textile
industries in Victoria should, therefore, opt for sustainability in the general textile industries [15].
This capability in recycling gives the consumers a variety of textile products to utilize.

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Secondly, the project has pointed a way out on the use of blends to make other textile
products. These blends which have been a big problem in the textile industries of Victoria will
now be recycled and used. This will positively impact on the environment and human health.
Since this blends can even affect the life animals when swallowed, the animals are no longer in
danger. This greatly impacts the farmer because the fear of losing livestock when they feed on
blends is completely out of question [16].
Outcomes
Although the project addresses the issue of the textile blends using the new technology,
there are still some issues of serious concern. The collection of wastes should be diversified to
help in sorting during the recycling process. Secondly, the consumer taste should be taken into
account and all possible feasible study done at both the local and international markets. This will
help in the designing of the appropriate technology according to the consumer's standards [17].
The ion liquid technology used in the separation of blend might have some challenges.
These limitations can either be human-related or technology weaknesses. All the cautionary
measures should be identified, discussed and appropriate solutions set. The challenges should be
grouped into categories of short and long term depending on the effect. The recycling technology
as already urged must be tested for its viability [17]. It must testify to be economical and
environmentally friendly. Therefore, these outcomes are subjected to further discussion by the
associates who might see it worth.

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