Textiles
Textiles are defined as types of cloth or fabric, especially ones that have been woven[1]. The macro tonnage of 'post-consumer textiles' reported by WRAP is 711,000 per year (and more recently 733,000 tonnes per year in a report referring to 2024 WRAP unpublished data[2]), but the most recent DEFRA statistics show only 139,445 tonnes of all textiles wastes[3], the difference mainly due to the amount of textiles that remain in residual waste
Macro Tonnage
The most recent information published by DEFRA [4] is summarised in the pie chart below, with 139,445 tonnes of textiles generated in the UK in 2020 and is part of the broader tonnage summarized in UK Waste Tonnage:
The macro numbers above do not breakdown the component elements of textiles, and there is a significant tonnage of textiles believed to be in the residual waste stream, based on tonnage put on the market, that is going to incineration and landfill.
Overview
Clothes and Textiles that are in good condition can be donated and sold for reuse. Items that aren’t suitable to be passed onto someone else can be recycled and made into new items, such as padding for chairs and car seats, cleaning cloths and industrial blankets[5]. Whilst Carpets are included in this category in WikiWaste, the options for reuse and recycling are still relatively limited in number in the UK.
Currently the UK does not have an Extended Producer Resonsibility for Textiles but the EU is implementing such a scheme from 2027.
Categories
The Textiles category/classifcation does not only include used clothing but also bedding, carpets and footwear, and these categories are reported by Local Authorities, the largest source of textiles reported by DEFRA being from households.
Local Authority Tonnage
The following headers below only capture significant tonnage collected and reported by local authorities through WasteDataFlow.
Carpets
Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 1000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.
| Authority | Stream | Facility | Operator | Address | Material | Tonnes | Reporting Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pembrokeshire County Council | Comingled recyclate | Materials recovery facility | A J Recycling Ltd | Meigan Wells, Blaenfodd, Boncath, Pembrokeshire | Carpets | 7,459.55 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Greater Manchester WDA (MBC) | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Other/Exempt | Econpro WDS Ltd (Carpets); 55 Hoghton Street, Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom | Carpets | 6,276.34 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Merthyr Tydfil CBC | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Bryn Quarry Ltd | Bryn Quarry Ltd, Gellia'R-Gwellt Uchaf, Gelligaer, Hengoed, Caerphilly | Carpets | 6,273.94 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Merseyside WDA (MBC) | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Other/Exempt | Phoenix Works, Phoenix Way, Burnely,BB11 5SX | Carpets | 3,835.28 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Staffordshire County Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Tidysite Skip Services Ltd | Tidysite Skip Services Ltd, Parkhouse Ind Est, Parkhouse Road East, Chesterton, Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire | Carpets | 2,410.35 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Cardiff County Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Atlantic Recycling Ltd | Ty - To - Maen Farm, Newton Road, Rumney, Cardiff, Glamorgan | Carpets | 2,350.16 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Warrington Borough Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Site details not known | Unknown | Carpets | 1,850.42 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| City and County of Swansea | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Other/Exempt | Neath Abbey Wharf, Neath, Neath Port Talbot [Wv1Der002/0/12.1] SA10 6BL | Carpets | 1,825.84 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Edinburgh, City of | Residual waste | RDF, autoclave, MHT or similar | Not Available | Not Available | Carpets | 1,742.37 | Jan21 - Dec21 |
| Ceredigion County Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | L A S Waste Ltd | L A S Waste, Tregaron Road, Lampeter, Ceredigion | Carpets | 1,675.12 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Vale of Glamorgan Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Other/Exempt | FCC Environmental NEW INNNew InnPontypoolLB3290HK | Carpets | 1,424.16 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Ceredigion County Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | C B Environmental Ltd | Rheidol Recycling Park, Glan-Yr-Afon Ind Est, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion | Carpets | 1,396.22 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Halton Borough Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Veolia Environmental Services Merseyside & Halton Ltd | Stonebridge Lane, Gillmoss, Liverpool, Merseyside | Carpets | 1,264.48 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Carmarthenshire County Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Other/Exempt | CWM Environmental Ltd; Nantycaws Waste Management SiteLlanddarog RdNantycawsCarmarthenCarmarthenshire | Carpets | 1,234.74 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Kingston-upon-Hull City Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Allensway Recycling Ltd | Prospect House, Holme On Spalding Moor, York, Yorkshire | Carpets | 1,193.26 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| East Ayrshire | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Not Available | Not Available | Carpets | 1,168.85 | Jan21 - Dec21 |
| Wigan MBC | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Other/Exempt | EconPro, Unit 13A, Deeside Industrial Estate (Zone 1 Central), Drome Road, Deeside. CH5 2LR | Carpets | 1,016.62 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
Footwear only
Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 200 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.
| Authority | Stream | Facility | Operator | Address | Material | Tonnes | Reporting Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrington Borough Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Site details not known | Unknown | Footwear only | 1,850.42 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Greater Manchester WDA (MBC) | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Other/Exempt | SWD Premier Clothing Exports Ltd; Unit 4f, Worsley Trading Estate, Lester Rd, Little Hulton, Manchester, Lancashire | Footwear only | 629.14 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Birmingham City Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Other/Exempt | Books Wilcox Beldray Works, Beldray Road, Bilston, Wolverhampton WV14 7NHTetiles and footwear a number of charities | Footwear only | 503.55 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| North Lanarkshire | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Not Available | Not Available | Footwear only | 463.01 | Jan21 - Dec21 |
| Staffordshire County Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Other/Exempt | Wilcox Industrial Supply Co.; Beldray WorksBeldray Road Bilston,West Midlands, | Footwear only | 309.05 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Kirklees MBC | Source segregated recyclate | Reuse (qu35) | Other/Exempt | St Vincent de Paul Society; Unit 1 Wellington ArcadeBrighouseWest Yorkshire | Footwear only | 287.33 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| North Tyneside Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Salvation Army Trading Co Ltd | 2-4 Bridge Street, Brechin, Angus | Footwear only | 214.37 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
Textiles & footwear
Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 3000 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.
| Authority | Stream | Facility | Operator | Address | Material | Tonnes | Reporting Period |
|---|
Textiles only
Below is a list of local authorities that sends more than 900 tonnes of this material to a single waste operator.
| Authority | Stream | Facility | Operator | Address | Material | Tonnes | Reporting Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrington Borough Council | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Site details not known | Unknown | Textiles only | 1,850.42 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Glasgow City | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Not Available | Not Available | Textiles only | 1,804.52 | Jan21 - Dec21 |
| Bromley LB | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Multiple destinations | Multiple | Textiles only | 1,537.94 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
| Edinburgh, City of | Source segregated recyclate | Reuse (qu35) | Not Available | Not Available | Textiles only | 1,534.38 | Jan21 - Dec21 |
| Merseyside WDA (MBC) | Source segregated recyclate | Reprocessor - recycling (qu19) | Other/Exempt | Beldray Works, Beldray Road, Bilston, Wolverhampton, West Midlands | Textiles only | 1,255.61 | Apr21 - Mar22 |
References
- ↑ Collins 2019. Definition of textile. Collinsdictionary.com. [online] [Accessed 5 Dec. 2019]
- ↑ https://ukft.org/act-uk-final-report/
- ↑ https://www.wrap.ngo/take-action/uk-textiles-pact
- ↑ UK Statistics on Waste 2020
- ↑ Recyclenow, 2019. Clothing & textiles | Recycle Now. [online Recyclenow.com. [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].