Hong Kong steps up efforts to find solutions for recycling textiles

Hong Kong’s first industrial-scale green machine is expected to process one tonne of textile waste per day starting next year. The magnitude of the challenge of tackling textile waste can be understood from the fact that a truckload of discarded clothes is burnt or sent to landfill every second around the world. Discarded textiles have become a significant source of environmental degradation and pollution over the years.

The aim of the government-funded Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel and its green machine includes:

  • Scaling up the machine’s capability of separating blended textiles into materials for new clothing and other industrial uses
  • Helping farmers with cotton production by extracting cellulose polymers

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