European consumers produced around 11 million tonnes of textile waste in 2019, but only 6.6% was reused or recycled within the EU, according to a Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) report published on Tuesday.
The majority of the waste - a staggering 8.41 million tonnes (76.7%) - was either incinerated or dumped within the EU.
Exports of textile waste beyond EU borders, notably to Africa and Asia, comprised 16.7% (1.83 million tonnes).
A mere 1.7% of the waste (0.19 million tonnes) was reused in Europe, while 4.9% was recycled on the continent (0.54 million tonnes), according to the ZWE’s findings, based on European Commission data.
The NGO anticipates that over 15 million tonnes of textile waste will be generated by European consumers by 2035.
ZWE also notes that only 33% of the approximately 12 million tonnes of textiles introduced into the European market in 2019 were produced on the continent.
Textile recycling in Europe remains a small sector. The second-hand market is more established, the NGO observed. It also found that some countries’ circular-economy policies are “more advanced than others,” with France standing out.
In France, the rate of textile waste collection and recycling is “significantly higher than the European average,” the NGO stressed. However, it warned that the data was not entirely comparable, particularly since the reference years are not the same - 2022 for France and 2019 for Europe.
