Melt it, spin it
The average American throws out around 81 pounds of clothing each year, and there are few options for recycling it. MIT engineers hope to cut down on that textile waste with a new type of yarn.
The article highlights a significant issue in the United States: the average person discards approximately 81 pounds (36.7 kilograms) of clothing annually, contributing to textile waste. Most conventional elastic fabrics, such as those used in leggings or athletic wear, are made by blending spandex (a highly stretchy synthetic fiber) with materials like polyester or nylon. These blends are difficult to recycle because the fibers must be separated first, a process that is both impractical and economically unviable. As a result, most discarded clothing ends up in landfills, where synthetic fibers can take decades to decompose, releasing microplastics and harmful chemicals into the environment. This problem underscores the need for more sustainable alternatives in the textile industry.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new type of yarn made from two variations of polyethylene, a plastic commonly found in items like milk jugs and grocery bags. Unlike traditional blends, this yarn is entirely made from polyethylene, which belongs to the same chemical family. This means the yarn can be melted down and reused without separating different materials. The project was led by Svetlana Boriskina, a research scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. The resulting yarn is as strong and stretchy as conventional elastic yarns, such as those containing spandex. Additionally, it retains its properties even after being melted and respun up to 10 times, demonstrating its durability and recyclability.
The MIT team envisions a future where clothing made from their polyethylene yarn could be easily recycled. Instead of ending up in landfills, garments could be collected in recycling bins and sent to facilities where they are melted down and spun into new yarn. This process would support a *circular textile economy*, where materials are reused continuously rather than discarded. Boriskina emphasizes that the next step is to develop methods for knitting and weaving the yarn into functional fabrics. The goal is to make the technology scalable and accessible, reducing the environmental impact of the fashion industry by minimizing waste and reliance on non-recyclable materials.
