Europe is investing heavily in textile circularity, while Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are increasingly seen as a key enabler of more efficient textile recycling. But is the lack of product-level data really the industry's biggest challenge?

A new £16 million recycling plant has entered operation in Northern Ireland, featuring a 3D trommel screening system, six optical sorters (including Pellenc ST Mistral+ CONNECT™ full-package units), AI-driven sorting technology, and integrated digital monitoring systems, following its completion by Kiverco for McKinstry Group.

For textile recyclers, the bottleneck is no longer collection - it's sorting. As textile waste volumes continue to grow across Europe, the ability to accurately identify and separate complex textile streams is becoming one of the industry's biggest challenges.

In Edinburgh, Scotland, STEINERT MSort sorting technology is helping transform green and brown recycled glass into AFM® — a high-performance, glass-based filter media used in drinking water treatment, swimming pools, aquaculture, and industrial applications.