From 2025 it will be mandatory to sort textiles. The network of such waste collection points will be expanded. Products will have to meet new quality standards to make their use longer and recycling easier. On this topic, LNK journalists spoke with the Vice Minister of the Environment, Raminta Radavičienes.
“It is estimated that 5.2 million tons of textile waste is generated in Europe every year. i.e. The big bad thing is that most of this waste, ie up to 78 percent, is at best incinerated or disposed of in landfills. Therefore, the aspiration to start expanding the infrastructure from next year is connected with the fact that we collect as much of that waste as possible”, said the vice-minister.
– What will change? Will more containers appear?
– The infrastructure will improve, it will be more convenient, the number of containers will increase. However, the big change is that there will be mandatory producer responsibility for textiles and textile products, which has not been the case so far. This will be done across Europe. Because the textile sector is one of the most polluting, ie the fourth most polluting after food, construction and transport. The manufacturer’s responsibility includes eco-design, the choice of materials in the production of products, the fact that they must be durable, sustainable, and last as long as possible. Also, that the products can be handled easily, i.e. changing zippers, buttons, etc. In addition, other textile products, such as rugs, are made from materials that can be recycled when the product becomes waste. Producers will also become responsible for the creation and financing of the entire waste management system.
The entire LNK report is in the video:
– Are there companies in our country that recycle textile products? What does recycled textiles turn into?
– We should start with the situation in the value chain, – in Lithuania, looking at sales, one third of purchased textiles are used and two thirds are new. Therefore, we have a huge puzzle that second-hand textiles enter Lithuania and we have to find suitable means and ways to solve this issue, because according to producer responsibility, only producers of new textiles are included in this scheme. Also, there are only a few companies that recycle textile waste so far, and only into lower-value textile products such as cloths, non-woven materials used as insulation, etc. It takes time to develop a commercial solution to produce a raw material that will be incorporated into the production of a new product. All over Europe, great attention and huge resources are devoted to this, and science is also involved, because the cooperation between business and science is also very important here. And we start from the fact that we can reuse as many textile products as possible. Therefore, there are at least a few larger sorting centers in Lithuania, where sorted consumer textile products are sorted again and either sold or handed over for reuse.
Sorting should not be a fashion thing, but our everyday life.
– Let’s go back to the users. You say sorting will be mandatory. What does this mean? Who will control us, perhaps punish us, what will be the responsibility if we do not do it, and who will check?
– I would like to say that this is not really a huge news or innovation for consumers. Today, consumer awareness is definitely on the rise and growing. If infrastructure is available, users are really willing to use it. I would also like to mention such very good initiatives as exchange platforms, where clothes are shared and exchanged, clothing rental is also emerging, which is becoming more and more popular, and not only casual clothes, but also work clothes. This again allows for increased sustainability in the sector, which is necessary and inevitable.
– Will there be fines?
– Sorting should not be a fashion thing, but our daily routine and I want to mention once again that today we see that textile containers are really often filled, more often the problem is that they are not always taken out. So for consumers it is not really a big change, the whole change is focused on manufacturers, production.
