Inescop supports Europe’s first waste recycling pilot plant for shoes, textiles and toys

The facility was developed by the shoe technology center (Inescop) itself, in addition to textile and toy centers such as Aitex and Aiju, respectively. The project received a €741,000 grant from Ivace and was co-financed with European funds. The presentation was attended by the Minister of Economy Rafa Climent, the Mayor of Elda Rubén Alfaro and various representatives of the sectors where the initiative is targeted.

Since the facility is christened, the circular industry demonstrator has the ability to recycle multi-composite products (using around 40 different materials on average) that end up in landfills or incinerate. In fact, every year in the Community of Valencia, only 5% of waste shoes, textiles and toys are recycled.

At the national level, the estimate is: three million tons Most of the waste from these industries goes to landfills. This waste often comes in excess from production and post-consumption when it reaches the end of its useful life. It should be added to these data that trends predict that the consumption of shoes, textiles and toys will increase exponentially by 2050.

Currently, the recovery and recycling of this waste is extremely complex. Although the industry has made great progress in the reuse of single-component materials, it was necessary to find a solution to multi-composite waste, especially in the separation and classification stages. Thanks to the demonstrator, it is now possible to separate and classify such waste, so that it can be converted into waste. raw materials with low environmental impact.