Not waste until wasted
Deakin set to recycle textiles to aid planet
ABOUT 100 million tonnes of textiles end up in landfill around the world – and about 800,000 tonnes of this are in Australia.
On top of that, some of our most popular plastic packaging materials, such as polypropylene, are difficult for consumers to easily recycle.
Deakin University researchers are hoping to address both problems, with two projects to develop new uses for recycled waste receiving close to $500,000 thanks to the Victorian government’s Circular Economy Markets Fund.
Twenty projects across Victoria took a share of the $4.9m fund, which is being distributed by Sustainability Victoria to support research institutes, industry and business to develop and commercialise new uses for recycled materials.
Deakin’s first project, which received $284,553, will produce particles from textile waste and investigate a range of applications, including pigments for printing and colouring textiles, vegan leather, and art.
The project will run out of the new ARC Research Hub for Future Fibres based at Deakin’s Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM).Lead researcher Associate Professor Rangam
Rajkhowa said that the project had potential to divert coloured textile waste from landfill and create new ways to use large volumes of recycled textiles.
The research team will also explore cost effective ways to
engineer particles with different properties using a range of textile waste.
“We hope to demonstrate benefit to both the economy and the environment,” Professor Rajkhowa said.
“This simple but powerful approach could address the huge challenges of recycling textiles caused by the complexities of different colours, fibres and blends.”
Deakin’s second project, which received $202,000, will demonstrate how used polypropylene paint containers, which are currently difficult to recycle, can be transformed into functional and economically viable products.
The project is led by Professor of Composite Materials Russell Varley and Dr Jane Zhang, at IFM’s Carbon Nexus facility.
“Post-consumer polypropylene paint containers are a major source of plastic waste that are difficult to recycle efficiently and economically because they are highly contaminated with residual dried paint and other inorganic ingredients,” Professor Varley said.
“This project will demonstrate that this waste stream can indeed be recycled, extending service life and imparting value into waste plastic.
“It will also divert waste from landfill and waterways, helping to create a cleaner environment for all Victorians.”