Textile waste collection andmanagement in Sweden : A case study of Eskilstuna Energi & Miljö

The aim of this degree project is to describe the textile waste management process of Eskilstuna Energi & Miljö (eem), as well as to quantify its climate impact compared to incineration with energy recovery (IWER). This is done via a case study that includes an interview, an economic assessment (capital investments and operational expenses), a life cycle assessment (LCA), a lifecycle impact assessment (LCIA) focusing on climate impact and a sensitivity analysis of EEM’s process. The results show that EEM has a well-established,profitable process for textile waste management, collecting 800 t of textile in 2023, of which 93.7% ended up being reused or recycled. The climate impact assessment of the lca show substantial advantage for collecting and sorting textile waste for reuse and recycling (75.68 kg CO2eq per t of treated textile waste), compared to IWER (8114 kg CO2eq per t of treated textile waste).The sensitivity analysis (using parameters closer to a Swedish/Nordic average for emission factors) revealed a climate impact of 338.8 kg CO2eq pert of treated textile waste, about four times higher than EEM’s process but still much lower than IWER. To conclude, by separately collecting textilewaste, sorting and preparing it for reuse (avoiding incineration), EEM are inline with existing and upcoming regulations on textile waste management. This approach to treating textile waste has clear advantage over IWER (the currently most common method of treatment in Sweden). However there are uncertainties regarding the assumption that a reuse or recycled textile item is replacing an item made from virgin materials at a rate of 1:1. A further investigation of replacement rates is warranted, to find more realistic values that can be used in LCAs. Finally, existing collection schemes for textile waste can become an important service, integrated into a future extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme.