Introduction
A continuous flow of raw materials is one of the basic requirements for designers who want to work on the recycling of post-consumer textile waste streams. After all, they need a guarantee that their production will not stop due to a shortage of materials. However, the basic material is usually not easily available, but has to be specifically selected from the large textile waste stream.
For this challenge, we collaborated with second-hand shops and sorting centres. So far, they sort through second-hand sales or lower residual streams. The clothes that end up in the lower waste streams are often still usable for upcycling and recycling. Sorting these waste streams offers new challenges and opportunities for both sorting centres and designers.
This research has become an investment for the recycling industry in a future solution to the growing waste problem.
Challenges
- How to find a local and sustainable sorting partner to sort the source material with the right quality?
- How to develop the operation, organisation and planning of the sorting system to sort the incoming flow of source materials according to demand and specific criteria?
- What is the importance of sorting in the preparation of the disassembly and cutting process?
- What technical adjustments are needed to improve sorting?
- What additional support is needed to make the job successful? What skills are required of the employees? And how can we learn them?
Lessons learned
What we learned in the process that we would like to share with future designers:
How to find a local and sustainable sorting partner to sort the source material with the right quality?
- Ecoso, with its eight recycling centres in the Mechelen region, has become a partner of TOP-atelier. They have the necessary basic material and are happy to work on greater circularity.
What needs to change in the operation, organisation and planning of the sorting system in order to sort the influx of source material according to demand and specific criteria?
- Communicate openly with your sorting partner and sound out their circular commitment. Are they willing to move their team and the centre towards a circular future? Are they willing to test new sorting techniques?
- Formulate the sorting criteria very clearly
- Adapt the sorting criteria to the offer
- As a designer, go and do a (fine) sorting yourself to better understand how your sorting partner works.
- We have worked on the basis of a structural sorting system in which the sorting criteria are defined by means of coloured cards. This is a clear and practical instruction sheet for the employees who will perform the pre-sorting.
- Other structural solutions are needed for the collection and sorting of basic material, including technology, staff training and guidance.
What is the difference between pre-sorting and fine sorting?
Pre-sorting = initial sorting of bulk source material into general categories: dirty or not dirty / type of garment (jacket, trousers, shirt,…)
Fine sorting = targeted sorting from pre-sorted categories for further application:
Example: sorting men’s shirts by colour, material composition, shape…
How important is sorting in preparing the disassembly and cutting process?
- To prepare the production process, fine sorting is necessary.
- A well-sorted selection of the source material allows for trouble-free operation in the subsequent production steps.
- Sorting by colour creates a uniform image and makes it easy to select and combine supplies such as threads, buttons, zips, etc.
- Sorting by shape and size streamlines the cutting process: the more similar the shape of the parts, the easier it is to place and cut them.
- Sorting by material creates a consistent image and allows the source material to be processed in groups of materials.
- Job sorting can be used to deliberately eliminate unwanted labels, buttons and other supplies.
What technical adjustments need to be made to improve sorting?
- The necessary infrastructure with sufficient space:
- direct daylight, natural lighting*,
- ergonomic and smooth sorting tables
- sufficient clothes racks and hangers
- sufficient bins
- an automated logistic sorting system
*Good lighting is essential to filter out as many stains, holes and other errors as possible during the sorting process.
Identification labels for convenient storage of sorted items.
What additional support is needed to make this job successful? What skills are required of employees and how can they be learned?
- Structural solutions are still needed for the collection and sorting of source material, also in terms of staff training and orientation.
- Different centres sort in different ways, with different technical support and staff skills. Choose your sorting partner according to their priorities and specialisation in your product.
- Many upcycling and recycling projects require both parallel and fine sorting. Sorting centres can adapt to this situation in order to keep more textile waste in the cycle in the future.
- Sorting centres are willing to test fine sorting on a small scale, but often lack the resources and space to train staff to do so. Additional resources at the base of the circular process would open up many possibilities for the future here.
Further advice
Useful contacts
- Ecoso stands for ECOlogical and Social Enterprise and has eight recycling centres spread over Willebroek, Mechelen, Reet, Schelle, Londerzeel and Niel. They like to get to know designers who are looking for a sorting partner. Kris Bauwelinck (circular connector for Ecoso) can be contacted at kris@ecoso.be or on +32 (0)3 866 17 07.
- Ann Collier (sector technology project coordinator for IVOC-IREC) coaches TOP-atelier’s designers and has often sorted with them. You can email her with questions about how this process works a.collier@ivoc.be.
- Sibille Diederichs (founder and designer of Joseffa) coaches the TOP-atelier designers and for her circular label Joseffa also works with post-consumer men’s shirts that are sorted in sorting centres. You can email her at sibille@joseffa.com
What is the cost of the sorting process?
- It is very difficult to give prices for finely sorted source material, as it often depends on demand and quality and we don’t want to give the wrong impression. However, you can calculate a cost based on the time you spend on your own in-house fine sorting and determine the cost price of the sorting process that can be incorporated into your business plan. This allows you to search specifically for a workshop that is willing to work at this rate. As long as the sorting centres apply the same sorting criteria for upcycling and recycling projects, it is possible to offer prices for sorting quality raw materials.
An overview of the challenges and lessons learned
For each stage of the production process :