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Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/17/2022 8:37 AM

I watched a TV documentary recently about used clothing being sent by Charities in Western Countries to African countries where some of it is sold to locals however between 50 % to 80 % of it is often unusable and it ends up in massive landfills , some of it even ends up clogging sewer and stormwater drains or being washed out to sea.

In Ghana for example , they are dumping 160 tonnes per day of unwanted clothing in the capital city alone.

Instead of this unwanted clothing being dumped or burnt , Is it possible to make it into construction materials such as compressed fibre board sheeting or bricks ?

Other types of fibres are already used to create insulation panels and also compressed with fire retardant chemicals to make compressed fibre sheet with similar properties to plywood.

The properties the end product would need to have are to be fire resistant , have good structural properties , be waterproof and not have any outgassing of harmful VOC or other chemicals.
There are distinct groups of clothing which might have to be sorted so they can be recycled , Polyester , Wool and Cotton would be the most common.

If appropriate efficient manufacturing processes could be identified i would like to campaign for international clothing and fashion labels , or other charity groups to sponsor the manufacture of small plant equipment , shipping it to these countries and training locals to utilise it for manufacturing.

What do the materials science guys here think of processes that may enable this ?

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#1

Re: recycling used clothing into building materials

01/17/2022 1:23 PM

Maybe. Another option would be to recycle and convert used/unwanted clothing made of natural fibres (cotton,linen) into high quality paper. Two artist friends are already doing this on a small scale. The attached photo is of a Hollander Beater I designed and built for them. Shredded cotton or linen fabric is loaded into the tub with water and the machine then beats the fabric into a slurry. The slurry is transferred to a screen, then 'couched' in several layers between felt, and pressed (the press also of my design and construction). The result is a thick, strong paper with a slightly pebbly surface, which my friends use for various art projects.

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#3
In reply to #1

Re: recycling used clothing into building materials

01/17/2022 7:15 PM

Sounds like a money-making idea, but it's probably a bad idea to use it for that.

https://littletoncoin.com/shop/How-Paper-Money-Is-Made

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#4
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Re: recycling used clothing into building materials

01/17/2022 8:54 PM

Right. Here in the Great White North I'm too late anyway. Canada recently switched from cotton/linen paper currency to some kind of plastic. It enables an additional security feature - holographic images embedded in a clear window in each bill. You have to be careful when counting them. They are very smooth and thin and can stick together - it is easy to count two bills as one.

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#2

Re: recycling used clothing into building materials

01/17/2022 4:21 PM

The same thing happens here...

..."In Canada, the average person throws out 81 pounds of textiles annually, while North Americans send 10 million tonnes of clothing to the landfill every year—most of which could be reused or recycled, according to statistics compiled by Waste Reduction Week in Canada."...

https://www.closettcandyy.ca/post/how-to-recycle-clothes-that-can-t-be-repaired-donated-or-resold

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#5
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Re: recycling used clothing into building materials

01/18/2022 12:54 AM
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#6
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Re: recycling used clothing into building materials

01/18/2022 10:00 AM

Probably would, but your linked article relates to reusable/washable cloth wipes. Cotton/linen paper really is nice paper. My artist friends decided they wanted to make their own because they couldn't find cotton paper in the large size they wanted, and what was available was very expensive. The press we built allows for up to 3' X 4' sheets.

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#7
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Re: recycling used clothing into building materials

01/18/2022 5:46 PM

Reusable is one way to go, but I don't see that catching on in any big way, but stripping the natural fiber clothing from the lot could probably be used in soft disposable paper, you could call it cottonelle....or maybe Linelle..? I think I read once that toilet paper was made from recycled paper, and had a very short fiber length which enabled a quick dissolving product, so maybe utility rags is the way to go...

What about blankets for the homeless?

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#8

Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/20/2022 3:46 AM

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#9
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Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/20/2022 8:50 AM

In the first video they are doing on a large scale what my artist friends are doing. That is also a Hollander Beater they are using. A good view of it can be seen at 1:16-1:18. The one I designed and built (post #1) is a toy by comparison. We could have used your internet searching skills. We found it very difficult to find technical information on the design and construction of Hollander beaters.

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#10
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Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/21/2022 12:24 AM

I think I would have a shredder first and then the Hollander machine...

Hollander machine

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#11
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Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/21/2022 9:22 AM

Thanks. Lots of info in your link. The Peace Paper Project website has become a repository of information for people interested in small scale paper-making. My friends have asked if I would build them a cloth shredder too, but I don't think I could do any better than what is already out there and available.

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#12
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Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/21/2022 10:05 AM

This would make sorting a lot easier, and give another product stream...

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Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/21/2022 10:24 AM

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#14

Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/23/2022 8:25 AM

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#15
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Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/23/2022 8:45 AM

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#16
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Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/23/2022 5:06 PM

17.35 recycled textiles used in ceramics . tick.

Veena is like the Energizer bunny , super motivated.

You posted a link to a textile shredder above , they are great when they are new but i have a customer who uses them and i earn a steady income from servicing them , despite how soft fabric appears to the touch it is highly abrasive , after 4 - 6 months the shredders show heavy wear and spend more time jamming up than they do shredding.

If stage one of recycling is not mechanical deconstruction then it has to be either chemical or through the use of light or sound to decompose the material.

Somebody with a million dollar laboratory can refine the options , someone will do it , hopefully on a scalable platform that can be used by microfactories in developing nations and give them an end product to improve quality of life.

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#17
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Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/23/2022 11:08 PM

Yes there are several directions to go, but I think the intended use of the recycled material points the direction...I wonder what a chain mill would do to old clothes? Might need to design a special chain.....maybe a hammer mill....maybe a combo...?

https://feeco.com/hammer-mills/

https://www.stedman-machine.com/chain-mill-crusher-primer.html

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#18
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Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/23/2022 11:54 PM

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#19
In reply to #17

Re: Recycling used clothing into building materials

01/24/2022 1:29 AM

Yes , Hammer mills or tungsten tipped drums of the type used for shredding trees.

The tungsten tips can be rotated 4 times to a new cutting edge and the process requires only a rattle gun and minimal skillset.

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