FIREX

FIREX: Setting up a complete recovery process for end-of-life textile waste

FIREX project, funded by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), aims to provide a sustainable alternative to the burial and incineration of textiles in France, to encourage the supply of recycled materials in short, local circuits, and to replace the use of virgin materials with recycled materials. As part of the project, two industrial units will be set up in France: an industrial textile sorting and untying unit (20,000 t) and an industrial textile recovery unit to create compounds for the plastics industry (5,000 t/year of raw materials in the long term). The project also includes a subcontracting scheme for fraying and spinning. These operations should make it possible to overcome a number of technological hurdles throughout the value chain: sorting, unravelling, spinning, weaving and compounding. The products resulting from the project will help to meet the growing demand for recycled raw materials in the textile and plastics industries.

The project involves a consortium of five partners: Synergies TLC, Tissages de Charlieu (LTC), TDV Industries, MAPEA and CETI. Synergies TLC and Les Tissages de Charlieu are setting up the collection system for professional garments and production off-cuts, and developing the automated unravelling and sorting (colour and material) demonstrator. The fraying and spinning activities are carried out by LTC and TDV Industries, via a subcontracting scheme. The two partners also use the recycled material produced to make fabrics, garments and accessories. MAPEA is setting up the compounding demonstrator to transform sorted textiles into compounds for the plastics and filament industries. CETI is providing its R&D expertise to support the various stages of the project.

Benkei assists the entire consortium with the overall management of the project, and more specifically with the phases of monitoring the project’s progress (meeting deadlines, achieving milestones) and technical and financial reporting (conformity of deliverables, progress reports, summary statements of expenditure and other appendices) to the ADEME. Benkei also coordinates the consortium through regular meetings and contributes to maintaining good relations with the co-financer. Lastly, Benkei ensures compliance with the financial agreement in order to secure the project’s financing.