Hong Kong to have its first yarn mill in more than half a century, to produce recycled yarn from used apparels.
This project is a joint collaboration of non-profit H&M Foundation and the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textile and Apparels (HKRITA). It aims to overcome the challenges faced while recycling the yarn from used apparels, such as making of recycled textiles from mixed or unknown fibres or yarn that is soiled or damaged.
The first production line with a daily capacity of one tonne of material is currently being installed in a refurbished building on the Tai Po Industrial Estate, New Territories. The first test-run will be done this August and the company is further planning of opening its second and third production line in September and October respectively. The company targets to produce 4-5 tonne of yarn on a daily basis.
The incoming material will be 50 per cent polyester, 30-40 per cent will be cotton and rest will be wool. The recycling procedure includes a chemical hydro thermal treatment that selectively decomposes cotton into cellulose powder and separates polyester fibres from the blend.
All the hard objects such as buttons, zips, and trims are removed from the garment. Then the textile is cut into pieces of appropriate size and are mixed with green chemical (95 per cent reusable water, 5 per cent organic acids) in a reactor. This process further decomposes the cotton fibres into a cellulose powder and the polyester fibers remain intact. Then, these two are separated from each other by filtration. Also, the produced recycled yarn is blended with virgin material to get the desired colour and content.
This initiative will address the issue of 200 tonnes of apparel waste being produced daily in Hong Kong and being dumped in landfills or downcycled into insulation, carpeting, and other low value applications.
