Maple BC Brief Research Work on Re-Cycle Cotton & Environment

What is recycled cotton :-

 

Recycled cotton can be defined as converting cotton fabric into cotton fiber that can be reused in textile products.

Recycled content includes recycled raw material , as well as used , reconditioned and re-manufactured components . Textile recycling is generated from two primary sources:-

 

  1. Pre-consumer:- Including scarps , yarn and fabric by –products
  2. Post – consumer: – Includes garments, towels etc..

How does recycle clothes help environment:-

 

Cotton is an major resource intense crop in terms of water , pesticides and insecticides. This means that using recycle cotton can help majorly by saving natural resource and reduce pollution from agriculture.

Recycling one tone of cotton can save ( 7,65,000 liters of water)

 

When you re-cycle , you keep things out of the landfills which is better for the environment. Many resources goes into manufacturing of clothing, recycling second hand clothes means that less raw materials are needed , less energy is used and less pollution for the environment caused by waste.

 

Process :-

Cotton can be recycled from pre-consumer and post- consumer cotton waste.

Pre-consumer waste comes from any extra material being produced, from fabric remains from factory cutting area/room.

Post-consumer waste comes from discarded textile products.

During the process the cotton waste is first sorted by type/color and after processed through stripping machines, the mix is carded many times in order to clean and mix the fibers before they are spun into new yarns.

With this result “staple fiber is shorter than the original fiber length” , means it’s more difficult to spin. Re-cycle cotton therefore blended with virgin cotton fibers to improve strength.

 

Recycling provide both environmental and economic benefits and help is fighting following issues :-

 

According to ( Environment Protection Agency) annual textile waste generated is USA amount to be more than 70 pounds per person.

Each year 1.5 million tons on unwanted clothing ultimately ends up in landfill , this figure has increased in recent years as the shifts towards more use of man-made fibers and this has made recycling more difficult.

 

According to “Recycling Council of Ontario” –

In Canada , the average person throws out 81 pounds of textile annually.

While North America send 9.5 tones of clothing to landfill every year, most of which can be reused or recycled , according to statistics compiled by “Waste Reduction Week in Canada”

 

  • When you put the whole picture together of future “recycling” is the right thing to do. We as a human being cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. By adapting recycle garments we can & will be able to overcome the challenges and help the environment and pollution free the earth.