Cotton recycling

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Recycling cotton prevents unneeded waste and can be a more sustainable alternative to disposal. Recycled cotton can come from older clothing, previously used or textile residue which is then spun into new yarn and fabric. There are several important limitations of recycled cotton, including the separation of materials that mix cotton/polyester. There may also be a limit of endurance in using recycled cotton.

Video Cotton recycling

Process

Cotton can be recycled from pre-consumer (post-industrial) and post-consumer cotton wastes. The pre-consumer waste comes from the excess material produced during the production of yarns, fabrics and textile products, such as woven woven from weaves and fabrics from the plant cutting chamber. Post-consumer waste comes from discarded textile products, eg. using clothing and home textiles. During the recycling process, cotton waste is first sorted by type and color and then processed through a stripping machine that first breaks yarn and fabric into smaller pieces before pulling them apart into fibers. The mixture is carded several times to clean and mix the fibers before spinning into new yarn.

The resulting staple fiber has a shorter length compared to the original fiber length, which means it is more difficult to spin. Recycled cotton is therefore often mixed with virgin cotton fibers to increase the strength of the yarn. Generally, no more than 30% of the recycled cotton content is used in yarn or finished fabric.

Since the waste cotton is often dyed, re-dipping may not be necessary. Cotton is a very resource-laden plant in terms of water, pesticides and insecticides. This means that using recycled cotton can lead to significant savings of natural resources and reduce pollution from agriculture. Recycling a ton of cotton can save 765 cubic meters (202,000 US gal) of water.

Maps Cotton recycling

Usage

Recycled cotton is often combined with recycled plastic bottles to make clothing and textiles, creating sustainable and natural-conscious products. Recycled cotton can also be used in industrial settings such as polish fabrics and wipes and can even be made into high-quality new paper. When reduced to fibrous, cotton can be used for applications such as seat stuffing or home and automotive insulation. It is also sold as recycled cotton yarn for consumers to make their own goods. In addition, cotton waste can be made into paper that is stronger and more durable than traditional pulp-based paper, which may contain high concentrations of acids. Cotton paper is often used for important documents and also for paper money because it does not easily fade. Cotton wastes can also be used to grow mushrooms (especially indoor cultivation of Volvariella volvacea or otherwise known as Straw Fungi).

Although recycled cotton cuts on the hard process of creating new cotton products, it is a natural and biodegradable fiber, so cotton fibers that can not be recycled or used further can be composted and will not take up space in landfills.

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See also

• Cotton paper
• Textile recycling

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References

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External links

• Go Green. Get Recycled and Other Cotton.

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Further reading

• Sowerbutts, Eli (1883) Traders Directory of Cotton Waste; into a complete list of waste sellers, and from all other trades connected to it . Manchester: Heywood and Son

Source of the article : Wikipedia