University of Nottingham and B & M Longworth (Edgworth) Ltd - AKT3 2024

Most of the world’s clothing waste—complex blends of synthetic and natural fibres—currently ends up in landfill or incinerators, because no cost-effective method exists to break them back down into their original chemical building blocks. This project tests a new technology called pressolysis that uses pressure and chemical reactions to dismantle those mixed-fabric garments into valuable raw materials. If it works, the process could turn mountains of discarded jumpers, jeans, and jackets into feedstocks for new textiles, plastics, or bio-based products, rather than letting them rot or burn. The immediate impact would be on the recycling and manufacturing supply chains: garment recyclers could handle the most problematic waste streams, and textile mills could buy recycled inputs instead of virgin oil-derived polymers. This is an applied engineering demonstration, not fundamental science—the team is proving that a specific reactor setup can handle real-world mixed waste at a useful scale. Success would mean a concrete tool for closing the loop on fast fashion’s leftovers.