By Goda Malinauskaitė, Aina Mizgirdė, LRT TV, LRT.lt.
Starting this year, all municipalities in Lithuania are required to provide residents with accessible and high-quality textile waste collection points. Yet recycling remains a major challenge, with only a small fraction of textiles actually processed. To boost textile recycling, the Environment Ministry plans to invest €10 million in recycling equipment.
At the Ecoservice textile sorting centre, around 6,000 tonnes of textiles were collected and sorted last year. Of this, 75% was reused as second-hand clothing, 20% was converted into energy, and only 5% was recycled into cleaning cloths.
“There are many challenges today – not only for textile collectors and sorters, but also for equipment manufacturers, who are trying to develop technologies capable of recycling larger volumes efficiently,” said Ecoservice innovation project manager Laura Zukė.
The Environment Ministry has announced financial support for waste management companies investing in textile recycling equipment. Eligible projects would involve converting textile waste into materials for the production of new products.
Over €10 million has been earmarked for this initiative.
Read more: LRT.LT
