HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-CIRCBIO-02: Advancing recycling technologies for mixed post-consumer textiles waste from blended products

Objetive:

To support farmers in diversifying incomes through sustainable business models and value chains.

Background:

Textiles are the fourth highest-pressure category for the use of primary raw materials and water and fifth for GHG emissions and a major source of microplastic pollution in production and use phases. They are also a key material and product stream in the circular economy action plan.

Expected Outcome:

       ·      European textiles manufacturers have access to novel technologies for fibre-to-fibre recycling of post-consumer textile waste;

       ·      local authorities and consumers benefit from resource- and cost-efficient waste management of post-consumer blended textiles;

       ·      European recyclers are equipped with properly characterised mixed post-consumer textile waste. 

Actions:

       ·      address textile consumer products made of fibre blends (e.g. polycotton, or other blends of multiple materials in combination such as synthetic, semi-synthetic and natural);

       ·      demonstrate and test novel and marketable solutions for post-consumer textile waste (apparel and home textiles) enabling its effective end-of-life collection, sorting and recycling (fibre-to-fibre), possibly including biotech solutions;

       ·      demonstrate and test innovative techniques for effectively disassembling complex products, separating multi-material layers and fibre blends and removal of non-textile components, coatings or contaminants to facilitate efficient recycling processes;

       ·      assess the recyclability limits of textiles by determining the number of recycling cycles a fibre can undergo.

       ·      characterize post-consumer textile waste in order to define appropriate management practices in particular if the technology is developed within an industrial and urban symbiosis;

       ·      advance recycling technologies that remove persistent chemicals from post-consumer textile waste which may harm human health and the environment, and that minimise the release of hazardous chemicals and microplastics during the recycling process.