Recycling
All kinds of substances that have expired and become harmful to nature as a result of people's social and economic activities are called waste. Materials such as cardboard, glass, metal, plastic textiles can be classified as waste. Reuse of waste can only be achieved by recycling. Recycling is the conversion of these wastes, which can be reused, into a second raw material by subjecting them to physical or chemical processes. The aim of recycling is to prevent excessive use of resources, to separate wastes at their sources and to reduce the amount of waste garbage.
The rapidly changing fashion sense, increasing demands, as well as branding efforts require very serious strategic planning and sustainable production behind it. Worry about not being able to meet the demands of the resources, if the increase in energy and other production costs is supported by sustainable techniques, it creates a comfort zone for the continuity of the businesses. While resource efficiency is targeted in sustainable agriculture and irrigation models for cotton, recycling should be targeted for the non-consumable part.
Recycled cotton is called regenerated cotton.
Textile recycling is produced from two main sources:
- Pre-Consumption:Contains residues of yarn and fabric by-products (Pre Customer)
- Post-Consumption:Includes clothing, upholstery, towels, household items to be repurposed (Post Consumer)
Pre-consumption wastes are industrial wastes, and they are much easier to collect and classify in terms of color and mixing ratios than post-consumption wastes. Categorizing post-consumption waste requires much more organized sorting.
Cotton Recycling is a mechanical process by first separating textile wastes into yarns and then into fibers. It is aimed to reach the optimum value without harming the fiber length and quality.
BENEFITS
- Recycled cotton continues to serve humanity in many different products such as insulation, felt, mop, rags and filling, as well as regenerated yarn.
- The recycling process can save many products from going to waste. During the production of traditional textile products, the average waste of cotton is 45%.
- The amount of energy, water and dye used can be reduced by using a previously processed product. Savings are achieved by balancing the production of new materials. The yarns have already been dyed, as recycled cotton yarns are most often obtained from pre-consumption textile scraps sorted by colour.
- CO2 and fossil fuel emissions can be reduced by using available materials.