ABOUT
WHAT IS KUITUUS?
Over 85 000 tonnes of end-of-life textiles are created in Finland each year. Unlike paper, this form of waste has so far gone unutilised. As the transition towards circular economy advances, also the separate collection for textile waste begins. The mandatory separate collection for end-of-life textiles begins in the EU region in 2025, but Finland will get started already 2023.
In the fall 2021, Rester and Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto opened their end-of-life textiles refinement plants in Paimio. In their factories, textiles will be opened up mechanically into fibres ready for further processing. The fibre may be used in multiple applications – from yarn manufacture to construction industry and composite products. The challenge is that the manufacturing industry does not yet know enough of the usage potential of recycled end-of-life textiles.
The goal of the Kuituus project is to increase the understanding of the usage potential of recycled textile fibre and the need for recycled material in the manufacturing industry. This way, the aim is to help making use of this valuable material.
The project is funded by Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation. The researchers of the FINIX-project led by Aalto University act as the project’s key experts.
PARTNERS
Kuituus-team
Project manager
Sini Suomalainen
firstname.lastname@aalto.fi
+358 50 300 1379
Sustainability Designer
Elise Rehula
firstname.lastname@aalto.fi
Project worker: content
Anumaria Salminen
firstname.lastname@aalto.fi
Podcast and video production
Siiri Rehula