Summing up
Table 98 sums up how the UK waste sector contributes to each relevant end-of-life option more or less beneficial
from an environmental point of view and how future trends could change the picture. In addition, the potential
for the development of other end-of-life options such as composting and pyrolysis should be assessed from a
technical, environmental and economic point of view.
Table 98 Influence of the UK context on the various end-of-life options for textile waste managementInfluence^ on^ the^ end‐of‐life^ options^
Elements of the UK context Recycling Incineration Landfill
1 Energy mix based on fossil fuels ↘ ↗ ↗
2 No kerbside waste collection ↘
3 Widespread use of blended fibres and diversity
of possible blends
↘
4 Lack of demand and market for recycled
products
↘
Sector‐
based
elements
5 Lack of recycling infrastructures ↘
6 Low carbon energy mix (^) ↗ ↘ ↘
7 Increased use of cogeneration ↗
Future
trends
8 Improved recycling technology (^) ↗
↗
Could contribute to make the concerned end‐of‐life option more beneficial from an environmental point of
view↘
Could contribute to make the concerned end‐of‐life option less beneficial from an environmental point of
view1 Currently, the UK energy mix is mainly based on fossil fuels. Therefore the energy savings brought by incineration and landfill
make this option advantageous while on the contrary recycling is associated with energy consumption.
2 As there is no kerbside collection of textiles, a small fraction of the textile waste is currently recovered for recycling.
3 The widespread use of blended fibres and diversity of possible blends makes the recycling process difficult.
4 The lack of demand and market for recycled products does not encourage the development of textile recycling on a large
scale
5 The lack of recycling infrastructures does not allow exploiting the potential of this alternative to be exploited.
6 If in the future the energy produced no longer replaces fossil energy, the advantages would not be as great as today. On the
contrary, the energy used for recycling would generate fewer environmental impacts.
7 The increased use of cogeneration would optimise the energy efficiency of incinerators.
8 Improved recycling technology could reduce the energy needs for the recycling process and increase the types of textiles
suitable for recycling.