Reclaiming and Marketing Cotton Gin Motes

Excerpts from the report: Most large Industries handling products in their raw form have ultimately discovered ways to convert processing waste into valuable byproducts. In the ginning industry, cottonseed was the first ginning byproduct to receive widespread recognition for its use value. Another byproduct that has more recently received attention is gin motes. The term gin motes, as used in the trade, refers to any gin waste usable for its fiber content. It consists primarily of lint cleaner waste, but may sometimes include motes from the gin stand. Because of a widespread shift to mechanical harvesters, and accompanying increases in multiple lint cleaning, the quantity of motes removed during ginning has greatly increased. Ginners now have enough gin motes to make reclaiming economically feasible. Largest outlets for gin motes are the bedding, automotive, and furniture industries. They use large quantities of cotton batting composed of approximately 60 percent linters, and 40 percent cotton waste and gin motes. Many ginners in the Southwest and West have reclaimed and sold gin motes for several years, while only a small proportion of ginners in the south-central area of the Cotton Belt have adopted this practice. Thus, some ginners are currently trying to determine whether it would be profitable to save gin motes; and if so, the method of collecting and handling which would be most profitable and satisfactory. Information is needed that will help ginners make sound decisions concerning mote-reclaiming systems for their gin plants and aid in better understanding of mote marketing. Therefore, this study was designed to provide data on (1) methods and costs of collecting gin motes; (2) market outlets and value of these motes; (3) estimates of gin mote supply; and (4) the marketing of gin motes in terms of types of firms, and grading and pricing practices.