UK Waste Management Firm Invests in End-to-End Recycling Complex
British waste management firm MYGroup unveiled plans Wednesday to build an “innovation centre for textiles recycling” in Hull, England.
The two-story complex, to be constructed within a “derelict” former laboratory and offices on MYGroup’s existing recycling campus, will remanufacture waste textiles into new products in “a UK-first,” the company said. MYGroup expects the 500,000-pound ($619,400) investment to create “up to” 30 new jobs, including for designers, pattern cutters, sewing machinists and sales and administrative support staff.
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“We are proud to launch this pioneering venture that showcases the company and the city of Hull’s commitment to sustainability and innovation,” MYGroup director Steve Carrie said in a statement. “We’re ahead of the curve and building a factory of the future—our end-to-end recycling process combined with remanufacturing capabilities will revolutionise the way our industry thinks about textiles waste.”
Textiles will enter a sorting and grading room before then being processed through a “commercial-grade” cleaning cycle and deconstruction process to remove hardware like zippers and buttons and separate multi-materials. Once MYGroup has cleaned and broken down the textiles into their individual materials, the company will transform them into new garments, accessories and other products. The facility will feature a “state-of-the-art” pattern-cutting and design studio and an industrial-grade machine production floor, the company said.
The complex will span 1,300 square meters, roughly 14,000 square feet. MYGroup plans to use MYboard, a material similar to plywood produced entirely from plastic the company recycles at its Hull facility, for its interior walls, and employ environmentally conscious design elements, including sensor-lighting in high-traffic areas and water-saving toilets. The company recently purchased industrial sewing machines and other specialist equipment used from a shuttered clothing manufacturer.
MYGroup plans to complete the first phase of the factory, including the sewing floor, pattern-cutting studio and storage this fall. Additional phases will add sorting, grading and washing spaces, offices and a training center. It anticipates investing a further 400,000 pounds ($495,000) in the factory, which it expects to be fully operational by spring next year.
“The landscape of the fashion and textiles industry is changing. No longer can the linear model of ‘take, make and dispose’ continue,” MYGroup textiles manager Katie Robinson said in a statement. “Legislation to enforce a more circular approach is fast approaching and we are seeing more and more of the largest brands in the industry engaging with us on recycling their waste textiles.”
In June, the UK Fashion and Textile Association unveiled its own plan to combat the more than one million tons of used textiles generated in the country each year. The 4-million-pound (about $5 million) project aims to develop and pilot a fully-integrated, automated sorting and pre-processing demonstrator for waste. The organization predicts the tool could eventually divert thousands of tons from landfills annually.
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