Inescop unveiled its inaugural pilot plant at its Elda facility, designed to reclaim and convert waste into raw materials for footwear, textile, and toy industries. The project answers a pressing question: why only a fraction, roughly 5%, of waste from these sectors is recycled—and what can be done to raise that share sustainably.
The Elda initiative was developed by Inescop, the shoe technology center, in collaboration with Aitex, a textile research hub, and Aiju, focused on toys. The project benefited from a €741,000 grant from Ivace and shared financing from European sources. The formal presentation drew participation from the regional Minister of Economy, Rafa Climent, the Mayor of Elda, Rubén Alfaro, and representatives spanning the industries central to the effort.
Since its inception, the circular industry demonstrator has demonstrated the ability to handle multi-composite products, which typically use around 40 different materials on average and often end up in landfills or undergoing incineration. The Valencia Community currently recycles only about 5% of waste shoes, textiles, and toys, underscoring both the challenge and opportunity in scaling recycling across these sectors.
On a national scale, estimates indicate roughly three million tons of waste from these industries. A significant portion of this refuse still winds up in landfills, largely generated by production leftovers and post-consumption waste at the end of products’ lifecycles. Projections point to a continued rise in consumption of shoes, textiles, and toys through 2050, amplifying the urgency of effective waste recovery strategies.
At this stage, the project marks a pivotal shift toward a climate-conscious approach for technology centers in Spain by tackling the most stubborn waste streams with proactive recycling and material recovery. The demonstrator’s capabilities extend beyond single-component recycling by addressing the separation and classification of multi-composite waste, a historically difficult hurdle for the industry. By enabling precise separation and identification, the system now converts previously discarded materials into high-quality raw materials with notably lower environmental impact.
Inescop becomes the first climate neutral technology center in Spain
Today, waste recovery and recycling in this sector remains highly complex. While progress has been made in reusing single-component materials, the multi-material landscape required a new solution. The demonstrator enables effective sorting and processing of mixed-material waste, paving the way for resource recovery that reduces landfill dependence and emissions. This capability demonstrates a clear path to turning end-of-life products into valuable feedstock for ongoing manufacturing cycles, supporting a more sustainable industrial ecosystem in Spain and beyond.