T-shirts and trousers with holes in them will no longer end up in the non-recyclable waste bin. From 2022 January XNUMX – three years in advance of the European prescriptions – in Italy it will become mandatory separate collection of textile products.
It will not be a recent change, given the backwardness of our country in this sector. An analysis by Ref Ricerche shows that in 2019 only 0,8/0,9% of sorted waste in Italy was attributable to the textile industry. A very low percentage, but still up by almost a quarter compared to 2015.
To improve the situation, the strategy recommended by Brussels and adopted by the Ministry of Ecological Transition responds to the principle of "the polluter pays”. It will then be introducedExtended Producer Responsibility obligation, which will have to support an environmental contribution (then transferring it to the purchase price of the products) to finance a collection chain aimed at supporting reuse and recycling.
The battle for the recycling of clothes may seem secondary in the panorama of ecological crusades, but it is not. Data from the Commission and the European Parliament demonstrate that the textile industry is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions: more than all air and sea transport combined.
Even more impressive are the numbers on the exploitation of water resources. The EEA estimates that textile production is responsible for about 20% of global drinking water pollution and that the washing of synthetic garments releases 0,5 million tonnes each year microfibers in the seas. To make a t-shirt, an average of 2.700 liters of water are needed, a quantity that would be enough to keep a person alive – without making him suffer from thirst – for about two and a half years.
Given these numbers, it is important to act on the waste chain also because in recent years, with the spread of the so-called fast fashion, the consumption of clothes has grown tremendously. Since 1996, the price of clothing in the EU has fallen by 30% adjusted for inflation, prompting people to buy 40% more clothes than 25 years ago. And, of course, more purchases means more waste.
