Each european produced 16 kilos of textile waste in 2020
Each European generated around 16 kg of textile waste in 2020, of which only a quarter was collected separately for reuse and recycling, according to an assessment of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
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Mundo Agência Europeia do Ambiente
The EEA estimates that around 16 kg of textile waste was generated per person in the EU in 2020 and that only about a quarter of this amount (4.4 kg) was separately collected for reuse and recycling, with the rest ending up in mixed household waste. The directive requires that from 2025, EU Member States must set up separate collection systems for used textiles.
Of all textile waste, an estimated 82 % came from consumers, with the remainder being waste from manufacturing or textiles that never reached consumers.
In addition to the WFD, which obliges Member States to have separate collection systems for used textiles by next year, the European Commission has proposed introducing mandatory extended producer responsibility for textiles across the EU, to make producers responsible for the full life-cycle of textile products.
A 2023 EEA survey found that most EU Member States already have separate collection systems in place, but mainly for collecting reusable textiles.
The EEA report warns that, in addition to separate collection, sorting and recycling capacities need to be scaled up in Europe to avoid collected textiles ending up in incinerators, landfills or being exported outside the EU.
The EEA said in a statement that there is a need to harmonise definitions and reporting practices for used textiles and waste, noting that the data it collected clearly show large discrepancies due to different interpretations of what constitutes waste and what constitutes used textiles.
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