Many of us try to recycle our old textiles, but few of us know that they are actually very difficult to reuse, and often end up in landfills anyway. Now, scientists at Lund University in Sweden have developed a method that converts cotton into sugar, that in turn can be turned into valuable products including spandex, nylon, and ethanol.
It is estimated that 25 million tons of cotton textiles are discarded around the world every year. When you add up the different types, a total of 100 million tons of textiles are thrown out. In Sweden, most of the material goes straight into an incinerator and becomes district heating. In other places, it is even worse, as old clothes usually end up in landfills.
