The British company Circle-8 Textile Ecosystems has made a significant investment: a stand-alone, automated single line sorter from Danish innovation company NewRetex. With the acquisition of the NewRetex sorting line, Circle-8 is taking an important step towards decisively advancing the development of a circular textile infrastructure in the UK – and setting new standards for the industry of the future.
NewRetex and Circle-8 launch partnership
Every year, more than 700,000 tonnes of non-reusable textiles are generated in the UK, but less than one per cent of this is currently recycled into new textiles. Most of it ends up in landfills or incinerators. This huge, previously untapped resource offers enormous potential: by converting textile waste into raw materials for fibre-to-fibre recycling especially for polyester, cotton and man-made cellulosic fibres – a new circular economy
can be established.
With NewRetex as a strong partner at its side, Circle-8 is developing a network of automated sorting and pre-treatment facilities that transform non-reusable textiles into valuable raw materials for large-scale fibre-to-fibre recycling. NewRetex‘s single line sorter is the first stand-alone component in this network: a high-performance plant with a capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year – and an important milestone on the road to industrial circularity.
Circle-8 is the largest recipient of funding from Innovate UK‘s ACT UK Automatic Sorting for Circularity and Textiles programme. The ACT programme supported Circle-8 in implementing an Automated Textile Sorting & Pre-processing (ATSP) to advance the
industrial scaling of fibre-to-fibre recycling.
“We are extremely impressed by the approach NewRetex has taken with the development of this automated textiles sorting system. It will enable a significant advance in the transition from manual to automated sorting of non-reusable textiles,
laying the groundwork to support the scale up of fibre-to-fibre recycling plants for textiles and other recycling processes in the UK.”
Cyndi Rhoades, Co-founder and CEO of Circle-8 Textile Ecosystems
The NewRetex sorting line will enable high-capacity sorting and the accurate classification of textiles according to:
- Material composition
- Colour
- Those with hard parts such as buttons and zippers
The equipment and specialised software will also enable significant data collection, including the weight and size of each piece. This data will be integrated across pre- sorting, baling and recycling companies to enable tracing materials from collection until recycled products. And eventually, with Digital Product Passports.
„We are delighted to be working with C-8 to expand our innovative sorting and traceability technologies beyond Denmark. We see a big potential in C-8 and their plans for the UK, and we are excited to be part of scaling textile sorting for recycling in Europe. We are impressed by their insight in the textile recycling industry and their ability to couple with brands and retailers in the UK.
We look forward to follow C-8 closely as they grow the UK market for sorting and textile-to-textile recycling.“ Rikke Bech, CEO/Co-Founder NewRetex Textile Sorting and Recycling This cooperation will take NewRetex into the next phase of ecosystem development, in collaboration with partners from the UK and Europe.
CIRCLE-8 TEXTILE ECOSYSTEMS:
The future of materials lies not in extraction, but in reuse. Circle-8 is driving the new circular economy for textiles by building the ecosystem and infrastructure for textile recycling. The company is taking the design, construction and commissioning of a network of automated textile sorting and pre- treatment facilities to a new level to convert non-reusable textiles into raw materials for fibre-to-fibre recycling processes.
The ultimate goal is to implement industrial-scale polymer recycling facilities for textiles in the UK. To this end, Circle-8 is establishing the necessary partnerships along the entire textile value chain and working to keep the estimated 700,000 tonnes of non-reusable textiles generated annually in the UK out of export, landfill and incineration in order to make this circular future a reality.
NEWRETEX:Textile Sorting and Recycling:
Sorting for a better future. NewRetex is a Danish innovation company that develops pioneering automated textile sorting technologies enabling high-precision classification and traceability of non-reusable textiles. The company‘s mission is to accelerate the transition to textile-to-textile recycling by providing advanced solutions for sorting by fibre type, colour and garment components on an industrial scale.
The proprietary systems integrate AI-powered software and sensors with a fully automated sorting line that transforms textile waste into high-purity, sorted fractions ready to be recycled.
Beyond sorting, NewRetex empowers the circular economy through complete data traceability using its integration-ready systems that support Digital Product Passports and transparent supply chains. NewRetex works actively along the entire value chain in collaboration with partners to build a robust ecosystem for circular textiles, developing high-quality recycled fibers for spinning, yarn made from post-consumer textiles, and even finished textile products.
