Sustainability

Tackling Textile Waste: The Role of Advanced Detection in Recycling

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Unsorted textile waste poses a major challenge for the recycling industry. Contaminants such as buttons, zippers, and labels make material recovery more difficult. Photos courtesy of Valvan
Unsorted textile waste poses a major challenge for the recycling industry. Contaminants such as buttons, zippers, and labels make material recovery more difficult. Photos courtesy of Valvan

The global textile industry is facing an unprecedented challenge: the rapid increase in textile waste. With fashion consumption at an all-time high and fast fashion accelerating production cycles, the volume of discarded textiles has surged dramatically. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that over 92 million tons of textile waste are generated annually, with less than 1% being recycled into new garments. One of the major hurdles in textile recycling is contamination from trims such as buttons, zippers, labels, and metallic components. These small but disruptive elements make it difficult to process textile waste efficiently and limit the quality of recycled materials.

Challenges of Textile Recycling

Historically, the removal of trims from textile waste was a labor-intensive process, requiring manual sorting or rudimentary mechanical systems that lacked precision. Many recycling facilities resorted to shredding entire garments, leading to mixed fiber outputs that were unsuitable for high-quality reuse. Inconsistent sorting also resulted in impurities that reduced the viability of recycled fibers for new textile production, leading to downcycling into low-value products such as insulation materials or rags rather than true circular reuse.

Additionally, traditional methods often struggled with efficiency and scale. Manual sorting was slow and costly, while simple magnetic separation could only remove metallic components, leaving behind plastic labels, synthetic patches, or colored trims that still compromised the purity of the material.

Improved sorting techniques allow textile waste to be processed more efficiently. Automated detection systems help remove disruptive elements, increasing recyclability.
Improved sorting techniques allow textile waste to be processed more efficiently. Automated detection systems help remove disruptive elements, increasing recyclability.
By eliminating unwanted materials, recycled fibers remain purer and more valuable, supporting a circular fashion industry.
By eliminating unwanted materials, recycled fibers remain purer and more valuable, supporting a circular fashion industry.

Role of Advanced Detection Technologies

To overcome these challenges, the textile recycling industry has turned to automated solutions that incorporate advanced detection technologies, such as near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. These technologies enable more accurate identification of unwanted trims and contaminants, ensuring the production of higher-quality recycled fibers.

A standout solution in this field is the Trimclean® system, developed by Valvan. Trimclean integrates multiple detection techniques to efficiently remove trims from textile clippings, with artificial intelligence (AI) playing a crucial role. This combination increases the proportion of material that can be reused in high-value recycling applications.

Removing Trims Using Smart Technologies

Trimclean utilizes four advanced detection methods to accurately sort textiles:

  1. Color Camera Technology – Detects color discrepancies in textile clippings, helping to identify trims that differ from the main fabric.
  2. Metal Detection – Identifies and removes metallic components such as buttons, rivets, and zippers to prevent contamination in the recycling process.
  3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Uses machine learning algorithms to recognize patterns, shapes, and textures of trims for highly precise sorting.
  4. Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy – Differentiates textile materials based on fiber composition, improving the sorting process for blended textiles.
Trims like metal zippers and buttons contribute to contamination in the recycling process. Advanced detection methods help remove them efficiently.
Trims like metal zippers and buttons contribute to contamination in the recycling process. Advanced detection methods help remove them efficiently.

A key feature that sets Trimclean apart is its dual-sided inspection, which ensures that trims on both sides of a fabric clipping are detected and removed. Traditional sorting systems often inspect only one side, leading to overlooked contaminants and lower material recovery rates. By increasing accuracy and efficiency, Trimclean helps recycling facilities process textiles faster while ensuring a higher purity of recovered fibers.

Advancing Textile Recycling Through Automation

Trimclean is a highly efficient system designed to extract trims like zippers, buttons and labels from fiber sorted textile materials.
Trimclean is a highly efficient system designed to extract trims like zippers, buttons and labels from fiber sorted textile materials.

With automated trim removal, recyclers can significantly increase the percentage of textiles that remain viable for reuse in high-quality applications. Instead of resorting to downcycling, more materials can be repurposed into new garments, reducing textile waste and supporting a circular economy.

As regulations tighten on textile disposal and consumer demand for sustainable fashion grows, the need for scalable, efficient recycling solutions becomes more urgent. Innovations like Trimclean demonstrate how technological advancements are shaping the future of textile recycling by improving material recovery rates and reducing dependency on virgin resources.