The EU generated an estimated 6.95 million tonnes of textile waste in 2020 — around 16kg per person. Of this, 4.4kg per person were collected separately for reuse and recycling, and 11.6kg per person ended up in mixed household waste. Of the total textile waste, 82% was post-consumer waste. The rest was textile waste generated from manufacturing or unsold textiles. In more than half of the EU-27 Member States, it is mandatory to collect textiles separately, but this is mostly to capture reusable textiles. If sorting and recycling capacities are not scaled up in Europe, there is a risk that significant amounts of collected textile waste will continue to end up in incinerators or landfills or be exported to regions outside the EU

Harmonisation of definitions and mandatory reporting on the amounts and management of used and waste textiles are needed for setting future targets and monitoring the sector’s progress towards circularity

The Waste Framework Directive (WFD) mandates that from 2025, EU Member States must establish separate collection systems for used textiles. This briefing provides an overview of the current state of textile waste generation, collection systems, treatment capacity and the different classifications for used textiles in Europe. Additionally, it identifies factors which must be considered when implementing separate collection systems to foster the circularity of textiles without inadvertently increasing exports, incineration, or landfilling

The apparel industry contributes 10% of global carbon emissions, exceeding those from international flights and marine shipping combined

The apparel industry contributes significantly to global carbon emissions, while almost 75% of textiles end up in landfills

A major challenge in managing textile waste is the lack of standardized classification and reporting systems across countries

The textile industry can learn from the successes of e-waste regulations, which improved recycling rates through extended producer responsibility and support the circular economy