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

Polycotton textiles represent one of the most challenging waste streams in the textile sector due to the intimate blending of polyester (PET) and cellulose fibers, which limits efficient recycling and leads to downcycling or disposal. While significant progress has been made at laboratory and pilot scale within the TÜBİTAK project—particularly in the selective separation of PET and cellulose and the conversion of recovered cellulose into a processable, biodegradable thermoplastic—there remains a clear need to demonstrate these solutions at higher TRLs and within an industrially relevant framework.

The overall objective of the proposed EU-scale project is to demonstrate and deploy an integrated, scalable solution for recycling and valorizing post-consumer polycotton textiles, enabling both fiber-to material recycling and high-value material applications, while ensuring environmental safety and economic feasibility.

Sabancı University’s Contribution as a Partner
•Core technology provider for chemical recycling of post-consumer polycotton textiles.
•Lead development and scale-up of fibre separation and cellulose graft polymerisation processes.
•Material design & characterisation of melt-processable, biodegradable polymers for packaging films and rigid products.
•Industrial integration support, ensuring compatibility with extrusion and injection moulding.
•Contribution to SSbD, recyclability limits and cascading use logic, in collaboration with LCA and industrial partners.