Sweden drowns in discarded fast fashion in wake of EU ban

Sweden's recycling centres are overflowing with clothes after an EU-wide ban this year on throwing away textiles, leaving overwhelmed municipalities eager to have fast fashion giants take responsibility.

- NIOUCHA ZAKAVATI

“It’s ahuge amount coming in everyday. It’s been crazy, it'sa huge increase?” said Brian Kelly, secretary general of the Artikel2 charity shop in Stockholm, where rows of bins were overfilled with discarded clothing.

Since the beginning of this year, EU countries must have separate textile recycling, alongside existing processes for glass, paper and food waste.

The aim is to promote circular waste management, where textiles are sorted and reused, or recycled if they are not too damaged.

“We have seen a 60% increase in textiles collected in January and February this year compared with the same period last year” said Karin Sundin, an expert on textile waste at Stockholm city’s waste and recycling management company Stockholm Vatten och Avfall.

Once the textiles are sorted, some 60% to 70% is designated for reuse, and 20% to 30% for recycling as padding, insulation or composite materials.

Around seven to 10% is burned for energy, according to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

That is a huge improvement from before the new law, according to experts, who note that discarded clothing used to be systematically incinerated.

LARGE VOLUMES