The first industrial plant for the automated sorting and recycling of textile waste has been officially inaugurated at Nouvelles Fibres Textiles in Amplepuis, France.

The plant is the result of an ambitious partnership between the textile recycling company with waste sorting specialist Pellenc ST and Andritz, as the specialist in textile recycling machinery and processes.

Capable of automatically sorting garments by composition and colour, the new line meets the needs of both the post-consumer and post-industrial waste markets. The line also removes hard parts such as buttons and zippers to prepare the material for further processing in an Andritz tearing machine.

The automated textile sorting line at Nouvelles Fibres Textiles is dedicated to industrial-scale production, customer trials and projects, and the R&D activities of the partners. It will process textile waste to produce recycled fibres for the spinning, nonwovens and composites industries.

Automated sorting has been the missing link needed to develop a complete ecosystem in France, where the fashion industry, waste management companies and textile producers from different sectors are working together towards achieving a circular economy for textiles. The European Union’s strategy for sustainable and circular textiles aims to ensure that by 2030 textile products are to a large extent made from recycled fibres and that incineration and landfilling are minimised.

“The opening of the new line marks a milestone in our efforts to turn textile waste into resources,” said Eric Boel, general manager of Nouvelles Fibres Textiles. “We are already laying the foundations for a second material preparation plant with a capacity to process 25,000 tons of post-consumer textiles per year.”

“We are proud to be part of the sustainable transformation,” added Alexandre Butte, general manager of Andritz Laroche. “With our technologies and our close partnership with Nouvelles Fibres Textiles and Pellenc ST, Andritz is making a significant contribution to a circular economy for textiles.”

www.andritz.com