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Life cycle assessment for reuse/recycling of donated waste textiles compared to use of virgin material: An UK energy saving perspective

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  • Woolridge, Anne C.
  • Ward, Garth D.
  • Phillips, Paul S.
  • Collins, Michael
  • Gandy, Simon

Abstract

In the UK, between 4 and 5% of the municipal solid waste stream is composed of clothes/textiles. Approximately 25% of this is recycled by companies such as the Salvation Army Trading Company Limited (SATCOL) who provide a collection and distribution infrastructure for ‘donated’ clothing and shoes. Textiles can be reused or undergo a processing stage and enter a recycling stream. Research was conducted in order to quantify the energy used by a reuse/recycling operation and whether this resulted in a net energy benefit. The energy footprint was quantified using a streamlined life cycle assessment (LCA), an LCA restricted in scope in order to target specific aspects of the footprint, in this case energy consumption. Taking into account extraction of resources, manufacture of materials, electricity generation, clothing collection, processing and distribution and final disposal of wastes it was demonstrated that for every kilogram of virgin cotton displaced by second hand clothing approximately 65kWh is saved, and for every kilogram of polyester around 90kWh is saved. Therefore, the reuse and recycling of the donated clothing results in a reduction in the environmental burden compared to purchasing new clothing made from virgin materials.

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  • Woolridge, Anne C. & Ward, Garth D. & Phillips, Paul S. & Collins, Michael & Gandy, Simon, 2006. "Life cycle assessment for reuse/recycling of donated waste textiles compared to use of virgin material: An UK energy saving perspective," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 94-103.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:46:y:2006:i:1:p:94-103
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2005.06.006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Corti, Andrea & Lombardi, Lidia, 2004. "End life tyres: Alternative final disposal processes compared by LCA," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(12), pages 2089-2108.
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    2. Yanran Liu & Tingting Tian & Xinyu Hao & Qin Zhang & Chengyan Yao & Guangfu Liu, 2021. "Promotion of Household Waste Utilization in China: Lessons Learnt from Three Case Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-14, October.
    3. Shadia Moazzem & Enda Crossin & Fugen Daver & Lijing Wang, 2022. "Environmental impact of apparel supply chain and textile products," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(8), pages 9757-9775, August.
    4. Mohammed Sakib Uddin & Khaled Mahmud & Bijoy Mitra & Al-Ekram Elahee Hridoy & Syed Masiur Rahman & Md Shafiullah & Md. Shafiul Alam & Md. Ismail Hossain & Mohammad Sujauddin, 2023. "Coupling Nexus and Circular Economy to Decouple Carbon Emissions from Economic Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Corsten, Mariëlle & Worrell, Ernst & Rouw, Magda & van Duin, Armande, 2013. "The potential contribution of sustainable waste management to energy use and greenhouse gas emission reduction in the Netherlands," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 13-21.
    6. Irena Wojnowska-Baryła & Katarzyna Bernat & Magdalena Zaborowska & Dorota Kulikowska, 2024. "The Growing Problem of Textile Waste Generation—The Current State of Textile Waste Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-12, March.
    7. Mutu Tantrige Osada Vishvajith Peiris & Gileemalege Lalithri Navodya Dayarathne, 2023. "Application of Life Cycle Framework for Municipal Solid Waste Management: a Circular Economy Perspective from Developing Countries," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 899-918, June.
    8. Tsiliyannis, Christos Aristeides, 2015. "Sustainability by cyclic manufacturing: Assessment of resource preservation under uncertain growth and returns," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 155-170.
    9. Sarif Patwary & Md Ariful Haque & Jehad A. Kharraz & Noman Khalid Khanzada & Muhammad Usman Farid & Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar, 2022. "Apparel Consumer Behavior and Circular Economy: Towards a Decision-Tree Framework for Mindful Clothing Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    10. Manda, B. M. Krishna & Worrell, Ernst & Patel, Martin K., 2015. "Prospective life cycle assessment of an antibacterial T-shirt and supporting business decisions to create value," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 47-57.
    11. Patrick Grüning & Justina Banionienė & Lina Dagilienė & Michael Donadelli & Marcus Jüppner & Renatas Kizys & Kai Lessmann, 2021. "The Quadrilemma of a Small Open Circular Economy Through a Prism of the 9R Strategies," Bank of Lithuania Working Paper Series 96, Bank of Lithuania.
    12. Dissanayake, Geetha & Sinha, Pammi, 2015. "An examination of the product development process for fashion remanufacturing," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA), pages 94-102.
    13. Yaolin Wang & Chenyang Liu & Xi Zhang & Shaoting Zeng, 2023. "Research on Sustainable Furniture Design Based on Waste Textiles Recycling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-18, February.
    14. Sujun Liu & Chuanlan Liu & Chunmin Lang, 2024. "Consumer Engagement in Fashion Circularity in China: Exploring Consumer Online Fashion Resale through the Lens of Social Practice Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-19, June.
    15. Esteve-Turrillas, F.A. & de la Guardia, M., 2017. "Environmental impact of Recover cotton in textile industry," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 107-115.
    16. Baydar, G. & Ciliz, N. & Mammadov, A., 2015. "Life cycle assessment of cotton textile products in Turkey," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA), pages 213-223.
    17. Kuczenski, Brandon & Geyer, Roland, 2010. "Material flow analysis of polyethylene terephthalate in the US, 1996–2007," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 54(12), pages 1161-1169.

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