A platform for innovative developments in the field of textile recycling

What happens here?

Boer Group is a constortium of textile sortingcentra in Drechtsteden, and sorts 450.000kg a day into 300 different fractions. 50-60% of the clothes are sorted per type and quality (ex. t-shirt type-A). The clothes are being sold from the sortingcentra to market sellers who have connection to the global market. However, a shift is occuring as not all fractions are reusable, global market dynamics are shifting and European policy stimulates the thoroughly sorting of waste streams. This results in a growing pile of used textile, asking for a different approach.

What is the relation with the port?

The port functions as a crucial switch in the chain: clothes are collected throughout the North-West of Europe, transported, sorted and mostly shipped to global markets.

What is the relation with the city?

The required work is labor intensive: these new circular initiatives bridge the gap between new technologies and design, herein offering places of new work.

What are the ambitions?

To recycle the growing pile of non-reusable textiles into new fibers and textiles. Therefore, innovative textile-recycling projects are funded and the Drechtsteden consolidates further into an important node in the chain of (mechanical) recycling.

Who is behind it?

Boer Group Recycling Solutions has been a collaboration between sorting centra and the Highschool of Saxion, located in Twente – the hub for mechanical recycling. BGRS provides funding, network and know-how for innovative textile-recycling programs.