Lenzing and Södra Receive EU Subsidy to Scale Recycling Partnership
Wood-based fiber producer Lenzing and pulp maker Södra are building on their existing circular collaboration with the support of a new 10-million-euro EU subsidy. The grant is part of the EU’s LIFE 2022 initiative that focuses on growing circular solutions at an industrial level.
Since 2021, Lenzing and Södra have been joining forces to leverage their respective expertise to create OnceMore®, a process that can separate cellulosic fibers in synthetic-cellulosic blends so they can be recycled. In the second quarter of this year, the partners embarked on a four-and-a-half-year project—dubbed LIFE TREATS (Textile Recycling in Europe AT Scale)—to build a new facility that will serve as a base for joint process development while also expanding OnceMore® production. After this facility is built, it will enable Södra’s plant in Mörrum, Sweden to process 60,000 tons of pulp containing 50 percent recycled content. The goal is to be able to reach a processing capacity of 50,000 tons of textile waste by 2027.
“Today only 1 percent of the world’s textile waste is recycled, putting an enormous burden on the environment. With the help of this significant funding, Södra and Lenzing are ready to provide one of the main solutions in terms of chemical recycling and become the enabler for the circular textile economy,” said Åsa Degerman, manager of OnceMore® by Södra. “As the first large-scale project of its kind, LIFE TREATS will have a positive influence on the textile industry as a whole, create new circular business opportunities and increase the share of recycled fibers in new clothing.”
This initiative will contribute to the European Union’s circularity plan, which is supported by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). A number of policy developments—including extended user responsibility and an update to the EU’s Waste Framework Directive—are poised to change how textile waste is processed in the region.
Lenzing and Södra are focused on giving a new use to textile waste that cannot otherwise be used, saving fiber resources from landfills or incineration. For instance, one waste stream for OnceMore® will be cutting scraps from cotton apparel production. Some of the OnceMore® pulp created will be used to create Lenzing’s circular TENCEL™ Lyocell with REFIBRA™ technology fibers.
Circularity is an industry-wide effort, and Lenzing and Södra plan to share their learnings to boost the use of recycled cellulosic textiles.
“Tackling the problem of textile waste requires a systematic approach, as well as technological solutions on an industrial scale,” said Sonja Zak, head of textile sourcing & cooperations at the Lenzing Group. “The LIFE TREATS project therefore follows an integrated approach to achieve real change and reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of the textile industry in the EU and beyond.”