New Generation Textile Recycling – An Outlook

Perspective of age old days: population was less, needs were few and resources were abundant. The generation of waste was such that it got naturally recycled, being mostly biodegradable. Conversely, after the advent of industrial revolution, different types of wastes came into existence which are often both non-biodegradable and highly hazardous. Production is always associated with some form of pollution and in specific cotton cultivation, production and processing, releases various types of waste at every level.

Reports illustrate that, among the total waste from textile, the largest part comes from the spinning mills, most particularly the blow room. Spinning is one of the vital industries of India and the 4000 ginning factories around the country produce considerable amount of waste during cotton ginning operation. Most of the mills, recover the useful short fibers from the blow room waste by passing them through willow machines, that inturn leaves a non resalable residue called “willow waste”. The scope of the waste from cotton industry extends its products to upholstery cloth, curtain cloths, cover cloths, blanket, towels, shirting, quilts, underwear, carpet, industrial roller cloth, electric cabling, hosiery and in the manufacture of asbestos yarn, paper, linoleum, plastic and regenerated fibers. Focusing on willow waste, it is too short a fiber, to be used for any textile application and thus disposed off in the landfills. An investigation report denotes that, the total amount of willow waste generated in India is about 80, 000 to 85, 000 tons per annum, and this obviously needs proper treatment apart from disposal as landfill.

A survey report states that 1% of American landfill space was occupied by disposable diapers which take up to 500 years to decompose. Such waste discarded in landfills has no resale value and in addition to polluting the atmosphere, if not degraded, they get accumulated and spread infectious diseases and foul odour. An increasing amount of waste is generated every year from the production and use of textiles and in reality the rate of recycling in textiles, is not very high which is an issue to look forward. For economic and environmental reason, it is becoming increasingly necessary to recycle as much as possible. At the least 50% of the textiles that one throws away are recyclable, but in practical only 25% of wastes are recycled. An outlook on the future market of textiles summit that India is expected to grow around 3-5% in the area of disposals, sequentially that will increase such disposal in landfills. Everyday many researches are being done to innovate new products and technologies but not many focus on the reclaim or a better alternative of used up and waste textiles that is either incinerated (burnt) or discarded in the landfills.

A researcher in India found that one particular type of non-reusable waste, namely “willow waste” can be processed to become compost that can enable organic cotton to a viable enterprise. The research work aimed at biomanaging cotton waste by means of a three tier system of enzyme-earthworm-microbe interaction. Pretreatment and enzymatic treatment of the willow waste was done to enhance good growth of earthworms. The resultant compost, without addition of any other activators was purely textile compost, with a very good source of carbon, with appreciable amount of NPK. The parameters and their values were pH 7.20, Electrical conductivity EC 1.85 dS/m, Total nitrogen 0.62%, Total phosphorous 0.35%, Total potassium 0.52%, Organic carbon 12.1%, Copper 180 mg/kg, Zinc 210 mg/kg, Iron 35 mg/kg and Manganese 12  mg/kg respectively.

On addition of cellulose degraders, nitrogen fixers and phosphate stabilizers the compost can be converted into rich source of textile compost as biofertiliser. This is  an  effective  technology  for  managing  solid  organic  wastes made of textiles, into a highly beneficial  and  valuable  compost, that  can  be  used as a supplement to increase  soil  fertility, by creating home for millions  of microorganisms with an additional benefit of reducing the toxicity of the wastes. Subsequently, in  order  to  study  the  efficacy  of  the  prepared  willow waste biocompost, pot culture study was carried out for plants with short life span namely marigold,  lady’s  finger  and  green  gram  dhal. Considering  the  threat  of  pesticides  on  cotton cultivation,  cotton  plant  was  selected  as  one  among  the  four  the  plants  for  pot  culture  study. The results were highly commendable. Farmers as well as industrialist have to be educated properly about the industry byproducts and their effective utilisation. Producing such value added products will obviously help the farmers in getting additional income and also in meeting the raw material requirement of the industry.

On a general note, Textile is one of the industry that exorcise maximum pollution to mother nature and the recent buzz is the abuse of chemicals, in the form of fertilizers and pesticides, that has caused a downbeat on the health of animals, human and the general ecological balance as well, apart from the fact that they are very pricey. Also, Cotton production alone uses about 25% of the world’s insecticides.  Large  quantities  of chemicals are  being  used to increase  the production  and productivity,  with  a least  concern about the  harmful  effects  induced  onto  the  next  generation. The WHO report points out, that every year 20,000farmers die because of insecticides and their harmful effects. Cotton being a very fertilizer dependant crop, has an undisclosed fact: that 65% of the chemicals used during cultivation enter both directly and indirectly into our food chain, which is highly agonizing. Undoubtedly, the manure castings excreted by worms, the so called vermicompost is a very effective biofertiliser, which has a high content of readily available minerals for plant growth which can be an enormous relief to the above discussed hitch.

The research work was targeted on application of the concept for the recycling waste into wealth. Third world environmentalists havealso recognised the “return to the sender policy” as, the only effective means of discouraging toxic dumping and the research focuses on the same principle. We all moan and groan about the loss of the quality of life through the destruction of our ecology, and yet each one of us, in our own little comfortable ways, contributes to that destruction daily. Now, we know the science, we see the threat, and this is high time for action.  Recollecting  the  words  of  the  Father  of  our  nation  Mohandas  Karamchand  Gandhi  “ You  must  be  the  change , you  wish  to  see  in  the  world” the  investigator  has  made  a sincere attempt to initiate all that mankind has and must do that is Recycling wastes and reduce pollution.

Waste has now become an index of growth. In the recent decades, the textile industry has begun to face up its responsibility to the environment and to evaluate the impacts of its products and process. Increasing environmental consciousness has forced research and development efforts to search for safe methods in textile production and processing. where ecology may be the next new trend.  The research was done by Aishwariya, guided by Dr. S. Amsamani, both from the Department of Textiles and Clothing, Avinashilingam University for Women, India as a part of Masters Degree programme 2008.  The extension of this research is now worked by Aishwariya for her doctoral degree, where an attempt is made to study on conversion of hospital textile waste, domestic and post industrial wastes, effluent waste, diapers, sanitary pads and other nonwoven (disposals) into compost and evaluating the properties of the compost made from various textile wastes. The study is targeted on the success of growing cotton using the prepared compost as an aid and new innovation in the cultivation of organic cotton.

The concept can be explained to the Textile mill owners and Tamil Nadu Agriculture University and a MoU/Tie ups can be made, so that textile waste can be vermicomposted and the resultant compost can be useful for the cultivation of cotton in the organic way. Further the study can be extended on to comparing the fiber properties of the cotton plant that is cultivated using textile compost made from various textile waste and the readily available commercial fertilisers. The theory can be made more effective by demonstrating the concept of recycling textile waste into compost to the women of Self Help Groups (SHG) which can provide them a means of mending money with a happiness that they have contributed to make earth a better place to live in.  The idea can be brought to the notice of the municipality and Corporation departments so that they can allocate separate bins to collect textile wastes and thereby the wastes can be sent for recycling. This is a new beginning which will throw smiles on my poor hard toiled farmer, by reducing the dependence, on costly and hazardous chemicals and pesticides.

“Remember the earth is not owned by you,

but loaned by you for the next generation”

Tagged as: Generation, Outlook, recycling, Textile