New polyester recycling plant opens in UK

The UK’s first commercial-scale, post-consumer polyester recycling plant has opened in Kettering, Northamptonshire.

Providing a solution to the issue of polyester textile waste, fully operational ‘Project Re:claim’ is a joint venture between Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL) and Project Plan B.

Producing pellets from polyester waste, the plant will recycle post-consumer garments and other textiles and, importantly, supply the raw material back into the fashion and textiles industries.

The plant is on track to recycle 2,500 tonnes of unwanted polyester this year, with a further 5,000 tonnes targeted in year two.

As many garments and other textile products aren’t designed with ‘end of life’ in mind, and most cannot be recycled, greatly adding to the textile waste problem, Project Re:claim “opens up opportunities for textiles to be designed for purpose, without any compromise to fashion, performance or the environment”.

Tim Cross, CEO of Project Plan B, said: “In the UK alone, 300,000 tonnes of textile items are discarded into household waste, including polyester. Up until now, polyester that had no useful life left would have been disposed of. With this project, we can now save that waste and return it to supply chains. It’s a carbon-saving, planet-saving solution, and it plays a significant role in helping our collective journey to Net Zero.”